Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
 A: Why don't you call Rita?
 B: I____________ call her a few minutes ago, but her phone was busy.
A. am
B. do
C. will
D. did

Answer 1

Hint:Correct use of tenses and verbs can help to solve this type of questions. Tense is a category in grammar that expresses time reference. Tenses, particularly in their conjugation patterns, are typically manifested by the use of particular forms of verbs. The past, present, and future are the key tenses used in many languages. On the other hand A verb, meaning word, from the Latin verbum, is a word that conveys an action, an event, or a state of being in syntax. The fundamental form, with or without the particle, is the infinitive in the normal English definition. Verbs are inflected in many languages to codify tense, aspect, mood and expression.

Complete answer:
Often Do / Does / Did are used to offer special emphasis in positive sentences, here to assert the fact that Rita was named. It is appropriate to use "did" because the action occurred in the past. Option D, therefore, is right. This condition is not reflected in the remaining options, so it is wrong.
Additional information:
Do. We use do when the subject is I, you, we or they.
Does. We use third person singular pronouns i.e when the subject is he, she or it.
Past Tense. Did is the past form of both do and does.
Negatives. The negative form of do is do not.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘D’

Note:To solve this type of questions we need to have basic understanding of tenses and other grammatical rules otherwise these questions can go wrong.