Question

Fill in the blanks using the suitable verb form:
I can't understand Martin. I _______(never) understand him.
a) Have never been able to
b) Will never been able to
c) Am not able to
d) Was not able to

Answer 1

Hint: We have to select the correct tense of the words given in the bracket. The hint is given in the first sentence itself. “can't understand” is in the present tense, so we have to use a present tense in the given blank.

Complete answer:
Option a is the correct answer because I have never been able to understand him shows that the author till date has not been able to understand Martin. “I have never been able to” is in the present perfect tense. We use present perfect tense when we refer to something we have done in the past and it is still true today. So, in the given question, “I can’t understand Martin” shows a general fact that I could not understand Martin yesterday and can’t understand him today either. Therefore, when we say “I have never been able to understand him”, it means that I could not understand him in the past and even today I don’t understand him.
Option b is wrong because will never been able to is not only in the future tense but is also grammatically wrong. The phrase would have been correct if it was “will never be able to”. A future tense is not the right answer.
Option c is wrong because I am not able to understand him means the same as the sentence already given. So, if we choose option c, it is similar to writing two sentences which mean the same but different in construction. Even though it is in the present tense, we cannot use it because we need to use the present perfect tense and not a simple present tense.
Option d is wrong because I was not able to understand him is in the past tense. Using this option implies that Martin has passed away. But we know that Martin is alive because of the first sentence.

Note:
 A perfect form of any tense (present perfect, past perfect, or future perfect) indicates that something is ongoing. If there was something that has happened in the past and it is continuing today, we use a perfect tense.