Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
I saw him ________ to a taxi driver.
a. Speaking
b. Spoke
c. Speak
d. To speak

Answer 1

Hint: Keep in mind the usage of parts of speech. Here, in the given sentence the blank is filling the place of both noun and verb. This indicates we need to use Gerunds, i.e. words that are formed with verbs but act as nouns.

Complete answer:
We must understand that ‘Gerunds’ becomes nouns when they act as the subject of a sentence and becomes verbs when they take up the object of a sentence. Understanding this let us look into the options given above and see what we can understand of those options. So here goes –
Option d, to speak is in present tense, but the given sentence is not. Therefore, this is incorrect and cant be used to fill in the blank.
Option c, speak also is in present tense, but the given sentence is not. Therefore, this is incorrect and the word can not be used here to fill the blank.
Option b, spoke is in past tense but it is not a gerund. Therefore, this also is not the correct option.

Option a, speaking is a gerund as it works both as a noun and a verb. Therefore, this is the correct answer.

Note: Try to keep the sentence meaningful, try reading it aloud a couple of times to see if it makes any sense to you or not. If it does then understand that you are on the right track.