Question

Complete B’s answer which can be negative as well as positive.
Use a verb from this list:
see/play/meet/be
A: Can you play chess?
B: Yes, but _______ for ages.
a) I did not play
b) I played it
c) I had played
d) I haven’t played it

Answer 1

Hint: Look for pointers suggesting which tense to use. The action has technically occurred in the given sentence, however, at a given time. These pointers are indicators of certain tenses.

Complete answer:
In order to decide which one to use from the given verbs, we need to understand the meaning of each one of them-
The verb ‘to see’ means ‘perceive with the eyes; discern visually'.
The verb ‘to play’ means ‘engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose'.
The verb ‘to meet’ means ‘arrange or happen to come into the presence or company of (someone)’. The verb ‘to be’ means ‘exist'.
Since chess is a game, the verb ‘play’ is the verb that fits the best.
The second sentence in the given question suggests that even though the person knows how to play chess, they haven’t played for a long time.
So, the tense required is present perfect tense which is used to talk about experiences or changes that have taken place.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a) I did not play - This construction is in the simple past tense. This phrase does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) I played it - This construction is in the simple past tense. This phrase does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) I had played - This construction is in the past perfect tense. This phrase does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) I haven’t played it - This construction is in the present perfect tense. This phrase fits into the context of the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note: Choose the most appropriate option given the context of the sentence. Make sure all the forms of verbs are aligning with each other and work with each other perfectly.