Choose from the options lettered A - E the one that most appropriately completes each sentence The______student has been________punished.

Analyze the question

You must pick the pair of words that correctly fills both blanks: "The __ student has been __ punished." Two things are tested: the right adjective (offending vs. offensive) and correct spelling (duly vs. duely).

Explain the concepts

1. Offending vs. offensive • Offending means "guilty of a wrongdoing", so "the offending student" is the student who committed the offence. • Offensive means "causing displeasure or insult" (for example, an offensive remark). A student can be offensive in behaviour, but "the offensive student has been punished" does not identify the culprit as well as "offending" does.

2. Duly vs. duely • The adverb from due is spelt duly. The silent "e" is dropped (like truly from true). • Duely is not a word, so B and E are wrong.

3. Merely (option C) means "only", and "has been merely punished" doesn't fit the intended meaning. It sounds like the punishment was small, and the sentence is about the student receiving the punishment that was due.

Step-by-step elimination

• B and E: "duely" is a misspelling, so they are out.
• C: "merely" does not complete the sentence appropriately, so it is out.
• D: "offensive ... duly" is spelt correctly but is weaker in meaning, because the sentence needs the student who committed the offence.
• A: "The offending student has been duly punished" is correct in both meaning and spelling. "Duly" means "properly, as expected or deserved".

Answer: A. offending/duly

Tip: Remember the spelling pattern of adverbs from words ending in "-ue": true → truly, due → duly. Also, "offending" = the one who committed the offence, while "offensive" = something that insults.