Addition of alkyl iodides (3) into the solution containing 2-(or 4-) vinylpyridine (1 or 2) and carbonyl compounds (6) in the presence of Zn-powder (99.9%) in acetonitrile under refluxing brought about regio-and sequence-selective joining reaction of three components to give the corresponding (2-hydroxyethyl) pyridines (7 or 8) in good to moderate yields. On the other hand, 2-(2-or 4-pyridyl) ethyl alkyl ketones (10 or 11) were obtained from the ...