Fill in the blank with the correct conjunction.
...doing the cooking I look after the garden.

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The correct option is 1:
$$Besides$$ is the correct conjunction to fill in the blank. When placed at the beginning of the sentence, "Besides doing the cooking, I look after the garden," the word "besides" acts as a preposition meaning 'in addition to' or 'as well as.' This structure is used to introduce an activity or item that is supplemental to the main action. In this sentence, the main clause is "I look after the garden," and the phrase "doing the cooking" is introduced as an extra activity performed by the speaker. Grammatically, "Besides" functions correctly with the gerund phrase "doing the cooking," forming a compound activity where the speaker manages two tasks: cooking and gardening. This indicates a cumulative relationship between the two actions, making the sentence flow logically and convey the intended meaning of undertaking both responsibilities.

The incorrect options are:

The incorrect option is 2:
$$Still$$ is an adverb used to indicate that an action or state continues up to a particular moment, or as a conjunction meaning 'nevertheless.' Placing "Still" at the beginning of the sentence ("Still doing the cooking, I look after the garden") creates an awkward and ungrammatical construction because "still" cannot grammatically connect the gerund phrase to the main clause in this manner to express 'in addition to.' Furthermore, if used as a contrastive conjunction, it would require a comma and a proper clause structure (e.g., "I am doing the cooking, still I look after the garden," which doesn't fit the original blank structure).

The incorrect option is 3:
$$Though$$ is a subordinating conjunction used to introduce a clause that expresses a contrast or concession ('even though' or 'in spite of the fact that'). If used here, it would require a full clause, such as "Though I do the cooking, I look after the garden." Placing "Though" before the gerund phrase ("Though doing the cooking...") is grammatically flawed and fails to convey the necessary meaning of performing two simultaneous or additional tasks, instead incorrectly suggesting a contrast between cooking and gardening.

The incorrect option is 4:
$$If$$ is a subordinating conjunction used to introduce a conditional clause, indicating that the action in the main clause depends on the condition in the subordinate clause. Using "If" here ("If doing the cooking, I look after the garden") implies that looking after the garden is conditional upon the act of cooking, which is not the logical relationship the sentence intends to establish. Moreover, "If" requires a subject and finite verb in the clause it introduces (e.g., "If I am doing the cooking..."), making its combination with the gerund "doing the cooking" grammatically incorrect in this context.