Question

Fill in the blank with the appropriate verb tense:
I will call you when dinner_______(ready).

A) is ready
B) had been readied
C) was ready
D) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Verb is a part of speech that is used to convey action. For example, the little boy is playing cricket. Here, ‘playing’ is the verb. It has three main types of verb tenses- past, present, and future.

Complete answer:
From the hint given to us, we know that verb is a part of speech that is used to convey action. It has three main types of verb tenses- past, present, and future. Thus, we can infer that the suitable verb tense will be the one that fits the context of the sentence. We observe that, the given sentence’s first clause in the simple future tense.
Let us analyze the given options:
A) ‘Is ready’ is in simple present tense form. For example, Sara is ready to go to school. It is suitable for the second clause as it happens before the future activity begins. Hence, option A is the correct answer.
B) ‘Had been readied’ is in the past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used to indicate past to past, which is unsuitable for the given context of the sentence. 

So, the correct answer is “Option B”.

C) ‘Was ready’ is simple past tense. It is unsuitable for the given context of the sentence. Hence, option C is not the correct answer.
D) Since option A is the correct answer, option D is not relevant and hence, incorrect.

Note: Verb tenses can differ only when the two clauses are independent in nature. A tense usually remains constant in a sentence. For example, She left for her trip and took her dog along. Here, ‘left’ and ‘took’ both are the simple past tense verb forms.