GAP FILLING (SOLVED)

                                         GAP FILLING (SOLVED)

Q. The woods here (a)_______________ lovely, dark and deep, and the greenery is enchanting. It is the picturesque Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, which (b)_______________ over 153 acres of land. Founded (c)_______________ 1969 on 34 acres of land, it (d)_______________ initially a botanical garden and home to an exciting variety of trees, herbs and shrubs. 

a) i) are                   ii)      were         iii)      was                 iv) has been 

b) i) is extending     ii) extends          iii) have extended      iv) has extended

c) i) from                 ii) since              iii) in                         iv) on

d) i) is                     ii) had been        iii) were                    iv) was

HOW TO SOLVE:

If we try to solve the blank (a) first, we can notice that the sentence can be divided in two parts, joined with the connector ‘and’. The first part talks about the ‘woods’ while the second part talks about ‘greenery’. Since, the verb in second part of the sentence is in the present tense, the verb in the first part of the sentence should also be in the present tense. Hence, options (ii) and (iii) cannot be correct. Moreover, the tense here should be present simple. So, option (iv) becomes incorrect. As we have eliminated all the other three options, we must be left with only the correct option, i.e., option (i).

For blank (b), we can notice that the sentence is in present indefinite tense. Thus, the answer should be a verb form in the same tense. Now, it is easy to note that option (i), (iii) and (iv) are either in present continuous or present perfect form. So, they cannot be the correct replacement for the blank. Therefore, the correct answer is given by option (ii), which is the simple present form of the verb ‘extend’, used here with the singular subject 'It'.

The last sentence indicates an action that talks about the past. As the preposition ‘in’ is used to show the year or month in which the action was completed, option (iii) gives the correct preposition for blank (c).

The last sentence reveals something about the past. Therefore, the answer has to be a verb in its past-tense form. Since option (i) is in the present tense, it cannot be the correct answer. The verb given in option (iii) is incorrect as doesn't agree with the singular subject 'it'. Although the verbs in both option (ii) and option (iv) are in their past forms, the former is in its past perfect form. Since the past perfect tense is used when a relative condition of the past is described, option (ii) cannot be the correct answer. Hence, the correct answer is the one given by option (iv). 

Answer:

(a) i      (b) ii      (c) iii      (d) iv