Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the highlighted segment in the given sentence:
No sooner did Mr. Piyahri Mishra finish his chemistry lecture that the students began to leave.

Correct option is D

The correct substitution is than the students began to leave.
Explanation: The phrase "No sooner" is always followed by "than," not "that," to maintain grammatical correctness.
· Correct sentence: No sooner did Mr. Piyahri Mishra finish his chemistry lecture than the students began to leave.
Grammatical rule used:
· In correlative conjunctions such as "No sooner… than," the first clause uses inverted word order with an auxiliary verb.
· Example: No sooner had she entered the room than the phone rang.
Meanings of incorrect options:
· So: Incorrect as it does not fit the correlative structure.
· Then: Incorrect because it changes the intended meaning.
· And: Incorrect as it does not follow the rule of "No sooner."