Question

Choose the correct answer to fill in the blank from the options given.
A swarm of bees _____ building a hive outside the house.
a) is
b) are
c) am
d) were

Answer 1

Hint:Try to understand the meaning of the sentence. This will help you gauge which verb to use. Discover the verb that points to a certain helping verb. Then, go through the given options and choose the correct answer accordingly.

Complete answer: We can identify the kind of verb needed when we look at the sentence. In order to do that, we need to deconstruct the given sentence:
Firstly, the verb needs to be in the present tense, as the sentence is giving us a verb that is supposed to be continuous i.e. ‘building’. So, naturally, the verb should be in the simple present tense. The subject in the given sentence is plural.

Now we know what we are looking for from the given answers. Let’s look at the given options-
a. is- The verb ‘is’ is used as a helping verb. It is the most basic form of the verb. This is in the simple present tense, however, it is used for singular subjects. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b. are- The verb ‘are’ is also used as a helping verb and it is a variation of ‘is’. This is in the simple present tense and it is used for plural subjects. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
c. am- The verb ‘am’ is used only with the subject ‘I’. So, it cannot be used in the context of the given sentence, as it does not fit at all. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d. were- The verb ‘were’ is also a basic verb, but it is in the simple past tense. This tense is incorrect for the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
Therefore, option b is correct.

Note: The sentences give you a clue as to which verb is required. Do not confuse the two verbs ‘is’ and ‘are’ with each other. They have similar uses, but they are used in different numbers. The noun is the key to choosing the right verb.