Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
Mary ____ the house early yesterday morning.
a- left
b- leaves
c- has left
d- is leaving

Answer 1

Hint: The use of ‘early yesterday morning’ indicates that the action took place in the past. Hence, we use the simple past tense to indicate an action that began and completed in the past.

Complete answer:
Let’s look at the structure and usage of the simple past tense-
Structure- Subject + base form of the verb + ed/d + object
Usage- We sang on the stage.
In the given question- We can conclude that Mary left the house early yesterday morning. Here, ‘left’ is the simple past tense form of ‘leave’. ‘Left’ is an irregular verb because it has its own distinct form of past tense.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘left’ is the past tense form of ‘leave’. It is an irregular verb because its past tense form is not formed by adding ed/d to the base form. Hence, it is the correct option.
Option b- ‘leaves’ is the present form of ‘leave’. It is used in the present tense forms. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option c- ‘has left’ is the present perfect form of ‘leave’. We cannot use the present tense to indicate an action that took place in the past. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option d- ‘is leaving’ is the present continuous form of ‘leave’. We cannot use continuous tense to indicate an action that took place in the past. Hence, it is an incorrect option. The correct answer is Option ‘a’.

Note:
Keep in mind, the simple past tense is the basic form of past tense in English grammar and it is also known as the ‘preterite’.