Question

Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb given in the bracket.
He scratched his head and ____ for a moment. (think)

a) Had been thinking
b) Thinking
c) Was thinking
d) Thought

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- She was happy to see him.

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- Dance + d= danced, play + ed= played
Some irregular verbs remain unchanged in their simple past tense form of the verb.
Example- put, cut, hit, etc
Some irregular verbs, including ‘to be’ have inconsistent simple past tense forms.
Example- Is/was, sing/sang, do/did, etc
In the given question: We can see the use of ‘scratched’, which is used in the simple past tense form of the verb ‘scratch’. Hence, the given sentence indicates an action that was performed and finished in the past itself.
Now, let’s look at the given options-
Option a- ‘Had been thinking’ is given in the past perfect continuous tense form of the verb ‘think’. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option b- ‘Thinking’ is given in the present continuous tense form of the verb ‘think’. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option c- ‘Was thinking’ is given in the past continuous tense form of the verb ‘think’. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option d- ‘Thought’ is given in the simple past tense form of the verb ‘think’. Hence, it is the correct option.
So, the correct answer is “Option d”.

Note: The simple past tense form of a verb is also known as ‘preterite’. Hence, do not get confused between the two. ‘Preterite’ refers to the actions or the state of the past.