Question on 'alone' in an exercise

[learning54]

Hi teachers,
Would the exercise be correct being option 'b' the correct one?

They did not take care of the seven babies alone.
a) with help
b) without assistance
c) with others

Thanks in advance

[emsr2d2]

Hi teachers,
Would the exercise be correct being option 'b' the correct one?

They did not take care of the seven babies alone.
a) with help
b) without assistance
c) with others

Thanks in advance

Are you simply asking us if b) is the correct answer or do you think it is the correct answer?

[learning54]

Hi,
Thank you for you concerning. I know that 'b' is the correct one. I just want to know if the options that are not possible are well presented.

[emsr2d2]

No. A) and c) are not possible. The word "alone" excludes "with help" and "with others".

[learning54]

Hi,
I'm so sorry. I haven't expressed myself very well.

I already knew the answer. The thing is even though 'a' and 'c' are not possible, I wanted to know if 'with help' and 'with others' are antonyms.


They did not take care of the seven babies alone.
a) with help. No
b) without assistance. Yes
c) with others. No

Knowing that I have expressed myself really badly, could you tell me how shoud I have presented my question? That if finally, I make myself very clear.

Thanks

[emsr2d2]

Hi,
I'm so sorry. I haven't expressed myself very well.

I already knew the answer. The thing is even though 'a' and 'c' are not possible, I wanted to know if 'with help' and 'with others' are antonyms.

Are you asking if "with help" and "with others" are antonyms of "alone"? Or are you asking if "with help" is an antonym of "with others" or vice versa?

Thanks

See above. I'm really not being difficult on purpose but there is a little ambiguity in your question.

[BobSmith]

[AmE - not a teacher]

I think you are asking if the other answers are grammatically possible, and if so, do they present the opposite situation. If so, here are my thoughts:

They did not take care of the seven babies with help. - It works, but would probably read better as "with any outside help".

They did not take care of the seven babies with others. - It doesn't work, FOR ME, because "with others" here "means with other babies".

Upon reflection, I have no idea what these mean. Please disregard.

[learning54]

See above. I'm really not being difficult on purpose but there is a little ambiguity in your question.

Hi,
I know you are not. It's just me. What I ask for is if "with help" and "with others" are antonyms of "alone".

[learning54]

Hi Bob,
'I think you are asking if the other answers are grammatically possible, and if so, do they present the opposite situation'.
Yes I am!

[emsr2d2]

Hi,
I know you are not. It's just me. What I ask for is if "with help" and "with others" are antonyms of "alone".

I doubt either of them would come up if you asked one of the many synonym/antonym websites for an antonym of "alone". However, I would certainly say that if a sentence says that someone did something "alone", then the opposite would be to say that they did it "with others" or "with someone else" or "with other people" etc.

"With help" is a little more complicated. You could perhaps, study for an exam "with help" from websites or from a book but you could still be studying alone (you are the only person in the room). If you studied for the exam "with help" from a friend then you didn't do it alone. There are other ways of using it which don't fall into either category.

"I passed the law exam with the help of a good friend." Obviously, your friend did not actually sit in the exam room and answer the questions with you. You did that alone. But clearly your friend helped you in some way in advance.