Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option.
One day the boys found a man in the forest. He ____.
a- will die
b- had been dying
c- had died
d- was dying

Answer 1

Hint: We use the past continuous tense to indicate actions that took place sometime in the past. It also indicates two actions happening at the same time in the past.

Complete answer:
Let us look at the structure and usage of the past continuous tense-
Structure- Subject + was/were + ing form of the verb + object
Usage- We were eating when the bell rang. Here, we can see the indication of two actions taking place at the same time.
In the given question: We can conclude that X and Y found a man in the forest. He was dying. Here, we have used ‘was dying’ because the action took place sometime in the past.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘will die’ is an incorrect option because it is given in the simple future tense.
Option b- ‘had been dying’ is an incorrect option because it is given in the past perfect continuous tense.
Option c- ‘had died’ is an incorrect option because it is given in the past perfect tense.
Option d- ‘was dying’ is the correct option because it indicates two actions happening at the same time.
Option e- ‘die’ is an incorrect option because it is the base form of a verb. The correct answer is Option ‘d’.

Note:
Keep in mind, the past continuous tense is also known as past progressive tense. We also use the past continuous tense to narrate and write stories.