Question

Fill the correct past continuous form of the verb to complete the sentence:
We _______ discussing the water problem with the villagers.
A) were
B) will be
C) was
D) None of these

Answer 1

Hint: The past continuous tense is used to describe an activity that occurred in the past. The action's timing may or may not be specified. The past tense of the auxiliary verb 'to be' (i.e., was/were) is combined with the present participle form of the main verb to make this (-ing word).

Complete step-by-step answer:
The present participle form of the verb, 'discussing,' is already provided in the given sentence. The verb 'was' or 'were' is the only thing that needs to be added. Let us now look into each option:
Option A) were: Since 'were' is the plural form of the auxiliary verb 'to be,' hence, this option is accurate. The subject 'We' is also a plural pronoun.
Option B) will be: This option is incorrect because 'was' is the singular form of the auxiliary verb 'to be,' which is conflicting with the plural pronoun 'We.'
Option C) was: This is incorrect because for the past continuous form, the blank must be filled with either 'was' or 'were.' The future continuous tense is indicated by the word 'will be.'
Option D) None of these: is wrong as the correct answer is option A.
Hence, the correct option is A) were, that is We were discussing the water problem with the villagers.

Note: Past continuous tenses can also be used to represent something that happened in the past but was terminated by another action. It can provide insight into what was going on at a specific point in time. It can also refer to a prior habitual behaviour.