Pronouns....
I'm so sorry, but I can do _______ in this situation.
everything
something
anything
nothing
All the given in the test pronouns - everything, something, anything, nothing are indefinite pronouns that refer to things.They all can be used in affirmative sentences: (1) the indefinite pronouns with every- are used to describe a complete quantity, (2) the indefinite pronouns with some- are used to describe an indefinite quantity; (3) the indefinite pronouns with no- are used to describe an absence and they are often used in affirmative sentences with a negative meaning, but these are nevertheless not negative sentences because they are lacking the word not; (4) ‘any’ and the indefinite pronouns formed with it can also be used in affirmative sentences with a meaning that is close to every-: whichever person, whichever place, which everything, etc.The test sentence is affirmative with a negative meaning: I'm so sorry, but I can do _______ in this situation. We understand it from the given context ‘I’m sorry, but… in this situation.’ The adjective ‘sorry’means ‘feeling sadness, sympathy, or disappointment, especially because something unpleasant has happened or been done; feeling sad or distressed through sympathy with someone else’s misfortune’: I’m sorry you’re ill – I hope you get well soon.; I’m sorry to have heard that news about your husband. So, in the test sentence the speaker feels sad or distressed through sympathy with someone’s misfortune in that situation because he or she realizes that nothing can be done - he or she cannot do anything to help or save somebody. He or she is helpless – unable to do anything to help yourself or anyone else. We use ‘nothing’ to refer to an absence of things in affirmative sentences: There is nothing to eat.; I know nothing about it. Thus, we choose ANSWER 4: nothing.