Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
If he __________ really as happy as you say, why doesn’t he smile occasionally?
A) Is
B) Were
C) Was
D) be

Answer 1

Hint: Auxiliary verbs are those verbs that add function and grammatical meaning in the clause or in the sentence. Examples of auxiliary verbs are: is, are, was, were, being, been, have, has, had and etc.

Complete answer:
As we can see, the verb 'happy' in the sentence is incomplete. So, the answer must be an auxiliary verb that completes the verb 'happy'. Also, 'doesn't' indicates that the tense of the sentence is in the present tense so our answer should be present tense. So, basically out of the options given in the questions we have to find the present tense auxiliary verb that makes the sentence grammatically correct.
Option A) Is – ‘is’ is the auxiliary verb and reflects the present tense and this option or answer completes the required condition. Required condition is that we have to fill the blank with present tense only and this option shows the present tense. Therefore, this is the correct answer.
Option B) Were – ‘were’ is used if the sentence is in past tense, however, the given sentence is in present tense. Were is used with the plural subjects. Therefore, the use of were will make the sentence grammatically incorrect. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.
Option C) Was – ‘was’ is an auxiliary verb and also used for the past tense and this option does not meet the required condition. Therefore, the use of ‘was’ in blank will make the sentence grammatically incorrect. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option D) be – ‘be’ is used in infinitive form or along with the other auxiliary verb have or will. Though be is an auxiliary verb but it cannot be used in the present form. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘A’ i.e, If he is really as happy as you say, why doesn’t he smile occasionally?.

Note: The auxiliary verbs express grammatical tense, aspects, modality, voice and tone, person and number. Auxiliary verbs play an important role in understanding the actual meaning of the sentence. Like here in this question, Option A is the most appropriate answer as compared to other options because option A satisfies the condition i.e., the present tense to be used in blank.