Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate verb form:
I refuse to believe her having told me the truth.
I refuse to believe that she ________ me the truth.
a) tell
b) tells
c) has told
d) would tell

Answer 1

Hint: The first sentence already tells us the required tense. Look for pointers suggesting which tense to use. The actions are to be completed in the given sentence. These pointers are indicators of a certain tense.

Complete answer:
The conditional tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened, and what we wish would happen. They are constructed as follows - ‘would + infinitive root’. So, this is the correct tense to be used in this case. This is the correct answer that is required.
In the given sentence, the verb is in the active voice. So, we will use the bare infinitive in this
case. In grammar, the infinitive form of a verb without the word “to” is called a ‘bare
infinitive’.

Now, let’s look at the given options-
a) tell - This verb is a bare infinitive, it does not change when used in any tense. However, it does not contain the word ‘would’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) tells - This verb is not a bare infinitive, it does changes when used in any tense. Moreover, it does not contain the word ‘would’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) has told - This verb is not a bare infinitive, it does changes when used in any tense. It is the present perfect tense. Moreover, it does not contain the word ‘would’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) would tell - This verb is a bare infinitive, it does not change when used in any tense. And it contains the word ‘would’. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note:
 Choose the most appropriate option given the context of the sentence. Make sure all the forms of the verb are aligning with each other and work with each other perfectly.