Question

Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank:
Why __________ (Bill/sack) from his job? What did he do wrong?
A) Was Bill sacked
B) Bill sacked
C) Is Bill sacked
D) Bill was sacked

Answer 1

Hint: Tense expresses time reference, tenses are usually appeared by the use of specific forms of verbs. Main tenses are: Past, present and future tenses.

Complete answer:
Verbs come in three tenses and they are: Past, present and future tense. The sentence given in the question is in the past tense, so, the verb must express the past tense.
Option A) Was Bill sacked – is the correct answer because ‘was Bill sacked’ expresses the simple past tense in the interrogative and in passive voice. ‘Was Bill sacked’ is the most appropriate answer as it gives the right tense and voice. The meaning of sacked here is dismissed. So, was Bill sacked means the Bill received an action i.e. terminated from the job. Thus, ‘Was Bill sacked’ is the correct answer.

Option B) Bill sacked – is an incorrect answer because ‘Bill sacked’ is in active voice and ‘bill sacked’ means maybe Bill has sacked someone else and this action has no recipients. Thus, the use of ‘Bill sacked’ has incomplete meaning in the sentence. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Option C) Is Bill sacked – is an incorrect answer because ‘Is Bill sacked’ is in simple present tense and this tense defines an action is happening on a daily basis, however, the action in the sentence states that it has already happened. So, the use of ‘Is Bill sacked’ is grammatically incorrect and this is an incorrect answer.

Option D) Bill was sacked – is an incorrect answer because ‘Bill was sacked’ shows the declaration. Declaration is a formal announcement and this is an opposite of the interrogative sentence and makes the sentence grammatically correct i.e. ‘Why Bill was sacked (Bill/sack) from his job?’ This is an incorrect answer.

Hence, the correct answer is Option ‘A’.

Note:The appropriate verb form must express the past tense, as mentioned by the verb phrase 'did he do'. So, Option A satisfies the condition and is in the past tense, so, this is the most appropriate answer as compared to any other option.