She only likes pink "the best."

Jenny likes ____ white _____ black. She only likes pink the best. (my bold)
(A) either; or
(B) neither; nor
(C) not only; but also
(D) both; and
Source: designed by a Taiwanese teacher of English.

The answer is option B. Is the phrase in bold redundant?

Well, you can only have one best.

What's wrong with A, C and D?

Tarheel said:

Well, you can only have one best.
What's wrong with A, C and D?

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I don't know.

sitifan said:

She only likes pink the best.

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That is awful.

sitifan said:

I don't know.

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Well, they are all possible.

Tarheel said:

Well, they are all possible.

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Yes, and 'she only likes pink the best' doesn't sound at all natural. The only case for B would be a strange world where Jenny liked only one colour (in which case 'the best' dooesn't fit).

"She only likes pink the best" isn't possible. It's either:
1. She only likes pink. (She dislikes all other colours.)
2. She likes pink the best. (She likes other colours but none of them as much as she likes pink.)

If we remove that ungrammatical part, you're left with:
Jenny likes ___________ black ___________ white.
The possible combinations that can go in those spaces are:
1. neither/nor (She doesn't like either colour.)
2. either/or (She likes black or she likes white but she definitely doesn't like both.)

I wouldn't say it's 'redundant'. I'd say it's wrong.

sitifan said:

She only likes pink the best. (my bold)


Is the phrase in bold redundant?

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Somehow I overlooked the question the first time. (Weird, huh?) Frankly, I agree with @jutfrank. It doesn't make sense. Say, "Jenny only likes pink." (She likes that color and no other.) Or say, "Jenny likes pink best." (It's her favorite color.)