Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option.
He has been very lonely since _____________.
a) many years
b) long time
c) his dead wife
d) his wife died

Answer 1

Hint: We use since to refer to a point of time. However, each option does not convey the correct message. This means that there is only one grammatically correct option.

Complete answer:
Adverbs of time tell us when an action happened, but also for how long, and how often. Adverbs of time are invariable. They are extremely common in English. Adverbs of time have standard positions in a sentence depending on what the adverb of time is telling us.
In English, we use it since to refer to a point of time. Since can refer to a point after a specific time or event in the past. Or it can refer to a particular point beginning sometime in the past and continuing until the present time.
We understand the fact that we need a dependant clause, with a verb after the adverb ‘since’.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a) many years - This phrase refers to ‘multiple years’. However, this does not entirely fit into the context of the given sentence. It is grammatically incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) long time - This phrase refers to ‘an extended period of time’. However, this does not entirely fit into the context of the given sentence. It is grammatically incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) his dead wife - This phrase does not entirely fit into the context of the given sentence. It is grammatically incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) his wife died - This phrase entirely fits perfectly into the context of the given sentence. It is grammatically correct. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note:
 Understand the meaning of the given sentence as the context of the sentence will help you to reach the correct and required conclusion. Try to match the phrase in the given sentence to the appropriate one in the given options.