Question

Fill in the blank with the appropriate tense-
I experienced true happiness after I ____ birth to my daughter. (give)

a) Gave
b) Give
c) Will give
d) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: We use the simple past tense form of a verb to indicate an action that began and ended in the past itself. We can also use the ‘simple past tense form of to be’ to express a person’s feelings or conversation of the past. Example- He was proud of his son.

Complete answer:

Let’s look at the formation and usage of the simple past tense form of the verb-
Formation: A base form of a regular verb + ‘ed’ or ‘d’.
Example- Jump + ed= jumped, reach + ed= reached
Some irregular verbs remain unchanged in their simple past tense form of the verb.
Example- cut, fit, put, etc.
Some irregular verbs, including ‘to be’ have inconsistent simple past tense forms.
Example- Is/was, sleep/ slept, ring/rang etc.
In the given question: We can conclude that ‘X’ experienced true happiness after she gave birth to her daughter. We can see the use of the verb ‘experienced’ which has been used in the simple past tense form of the verb ‘experience’. Hence, the given sentence indicates remembrance of an action that began and ended in the past itself.
Now, let’s look at the given options-
Option a- ‘Gave’ is given in the simple past tense form of the verb ‘give’. Hence, it is the correct option.
Option b- ‘Give’ is the base form of the verb. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option c- ‘Will give’ is given in the simple future tense form of the verb ‘give’. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
So, the correct answer is “Option a”.

Note: The simple past tense form is also known as ‘preterite’. ‘Preterite’ is used to indicate an action or state of the past. Hence, do not get confused between the two.