Question

Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank:
Mr Clark ______(work) in a bank for 15 years. Then he gave it up.
A) have worked
B) had worked
C) is working
D) worked

Answer 1

Hint: Firstly, read the sentence and find out its meaning. Afterwards, try to search out which form of verb is used in the sentence earlier because the verb form remains the same throughout the sentence. For example: Joe finished his homework, cleaned his room and went out for supper.
Here in this case, finished, cleaned and went is simple past tense. The form of the verb is constant throughout a sentence. Hence, to find a correct form of verb it is mandatory to point out which form of verb is used earlier.

Complete answer:
In the question, the verb ‘work’ is given which is used to describe any activity that has to be performed with the mental and physical efforts. Now, as per the instructions mentioned in the question, we need to fill the correct form of “work” in the given space according to the requirement of the sentence. The sentence is indicating the past activity as it is specifying the work experience of Mr Clark. Furthermore, what is the current status of his work?

To fill the correct form of the verb, first of all point out which form of verb is used earlier. The word ‘gave up’ is denoting simple past tense. Hence, we need to find out the form of a verb which is related to the simple past tense.

So, lets analyse the options:
Option(A) have worked- It is an incorrect answer: It is a present perfect tense and we require simple past tense. In addition, subject- verb agreement is also disqualifying here because ‘have worked’ is plural whereas ‘Mr. Clark is singular’ Therefore, it is an appropriate choice.

Option(B) had worked- It is an incorrect answer: It is a past perfect tense which tells that any activity happened in the past is completed before other activity happened. But in the given question, the information related to the occurring of any other activity is not mentioned after the completion of the first one. Therefore, it is a wrong choice.

Option(C) is working- It is an incorrect answer: It is a present continuous tense which states that something started in the past is still in progress. But according to the above sentence, the activity that happened in the past has ended now. Hence, it is not fit for the blank space.

Option(D) worked- It is the correct answer: It is a simple past tense which specifies that something occurred in the past. According to the given sentence, Mr. Clark performed his duty in the bank for a certain period of time but now he backed down. Similarly, ‘worked’ is also stating the same.
Furthermore, it is also satisfying verb tense consistency. The form of the verb in ‘worked’ and ‘gave up’ is the same as both are simple past tense.

Hence, the option(D) is the right choice. Mr. Clark worked in a bank for 15 years. Then he gave it up.

Note: Remember, to fill any correct form of verb in the blank space. Firstly, find out which tense is required followed by verb form.

With the reference of the above question, ‘15 years’ is stating that any activity happened in the past, Therefore, past tense will be used to fill the space. After this, ‘gave up’ is denoting that this activity has stopped now and it is a simple past tense. Therefore, keeping in mind a few rules such as verb tense consistency and subject-verb agreement you can find the form of the verb quickly and accurately.