Fill in the blanks: Prerna and Sushil (i) (has/have/had) spent years together. On growing up they (ii) (had got/have got/got) separated and went their own ways. Sushil (iii) _ (becomes/became/had become) a well-known sports personality...
Fill in the blanks: Prerna and Sushil (i) (has/have/had) spent years together. On growing up they (ii) (had got/have got/got) separated and went their own ways. Sushil (iii) _ (becomes/became/had become) a well-known sports personality...
(i) had (ii) got (iii) became — because (i) needs the past perfect to show an action completed before the separation, while (ii) and (iii) are simple past, matching the main narrative timeline.
Marking Scheme
- 11 mark for each correct blank: (i) had, (ii) got, (iii) became.
- 2No partial marks within individual blanks.
- 3Total: 3 marks (1 + 1 + 1).
Hint
The entire story is set in the past. For each blank, ask: is this the main past event (simple past) or an event before another past event (past perfect)?
Quick Oral Answer
The correct answers are 'had' (past perfect, as spending years together preceded the separation), 'got' (simple past for the specific event of separation), and 'became' (simple past to maintain the past narrative about Sushil's career).
Analysis & Explanation
This 3-mark question tests mastery of English tenses within a narrative context, where all events described are already complete.
Concept
- The whole passage is set in the past, so every blank must take a past-tense form; the choice among the three past-tense options depends on the sequence of events.
Reasoning for each blank
- (i) had — 'had spent years together' uses past perfect because this action was completed before the later event (getting separated) — a classic 'earlier of two past actions' case.
- (ii) got — simple past is correct because the separation ('on growing up') is the main narrative event at a defined time, not a prior one; 'had got' would wrongly add another layer of past perfect, and 'have got' breaks the past-tense frame entirely.
- (iii) became — simple past matches the narrative timeline; 'becomes' wrongly shifts to present tense, and 'had become' would wrongly imply fame came before the separation, contradicting the story's chronology.
Common mistakes
- Picking past perfect for every blank just because the passage is in the past, instead of checking which action truly happened before another.
- Missing that only blank (i) needs past perfect since it precedes the separation event.
Exam strategy
- First identify the overall time frame (past here), then map out the sequence of events before choosing between simple past and past perfect.
Common Mistakes
- 1Using 'have' in blank (i) instead of 'had' -- 'have spent' is present perfect and would be incorrect in a past narrative. The story is clearly set in the past, so past perfect 'had spent' is needed.
- 2Choosing 'had got' for blank (ii) by over-applying the past perfect tense -- 'got separated' is the main past event, not one that preceded another past event, so simple past is correct.
- 3Selecting 'becomes' for blank (iii) because it looks correct with a singular subject (Sushil), but it shifts the tense to present, breaking the past narrative flow. 'Became' maintains consistency.
Interesting Facts
English has 12 tense forms (4 aspects across 3 time periods), making it one of the most complex tense systems among world languages. Many Indian languages like Hindi have simpler tense structures.
The past perfect tense ('had + past participle') was formally codified in English grammar during the 18th century by Robert Lowth in his influential 1762 work 'A Short Introduction to English Grammar'.
Research by Cambridge University Press found that tense errors are the most common grammatical mistakes made by Indian English learners, accounting for approximately 35% of all grammar errors in CBSE board exam papers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I decide between 'had', 'have', and 'has' in gap-filling exercises?
Look at the overall time frame of the narrative. If the story is set in the past, use 'had' (past perfect) for actions completed before the main past events. Use 'have/has' only for present perfect tense in present-time contexts.
Why is 'got' correct in blank (ii) instead of 'had got'?
'Got separated' is a simple past action that happened at a specific point in time ('on growing up'). 'Had got' would imply an action before another past action, but here the separation is the main event, not a prior one.
What is the difference between 'became' and 'had become' in this context?
'Became' (simple past) describes a completed action in the past narrative. 'Had become' (past perfect) would only be correct if this event happened before another already-mentioned past event, which is not the case here.