Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the word from the options provided after each. The first one has been done for you. A farmer (0) LIVED (live) on the same farm all his life. It (1) __________ (be) a good farm. As the years (2) __________ (pass), the farmer (3) __________ (begin) to tire and he (4) __________ (long) for a change, for something better.
(1) __________ (be)
Topic: Tenses — correct form of the verb
Try it
Pick an option and check your answer. The full worked answer is below either way.
Answer
(b) was.
The worked example gives "(0) LIVED", which fixes the passage in the SIMPLE PAST. Every blank must agree with that unless the grammar forces otherwise.
The subject is "It", singular, so the past form is WAS, not were. Options (a) and (c) are present-tense forms and can be eliminated at once; option (d) is past but plural.
TWO CHECKS for every fill-in-the-verb blank: first the TENSE (what does the rest of the passage use?), then the AGREEMENT (is the subject singular or plural?). Both must be right for the mark.
was.