Question

Nicolette and Tricia was heard arguing in the balcony after lunch.
Choose the option that best corrects the underlined word.
a. Were heard
b. Is heard
c. Are hearing
d. No change

Answer 1

Hint: The scope of the action is continuous in the past.

Complete step-by-step answer:

The Past Tense denotes those actions that have already taken place in the past. To frame verbs in the past tense, you must add the suffix ‘ed’ to the conjugated form of the infinitive of the verb. ‘Infinitive’ refers to the ‘to form’ of a verb. E.g. - to meet.
There are four types of past tenses:
The Simple Past Tense is used when the action is indefinite in the past. It doesn’t make use of any auxiliary verb.
The Past Continuous Tense is used when the action is continuous in the past. The infinitive form of such verbs is preceded by the auxiliary was.
The Past Perfect Tense is used when the action has been completed in the past itself. The infinitive form of such verbs is preceded by the auxiliary had.
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used when an action is expected to continue up until a point in the past. The infinitive form of such verbs is preceded by the auxiliary had been.
In the above question, the action is continuous in the past. Therefore, it is in the Past Continuous Tense. But, the subject-verb agreement is wrong. As the subject is plural, the auxiliary verb must also be plural. In this case, the plural auxiliary verb is were. There, option ‘a’ is the correct answer.

Note: To avoid making errors, consider when the action started and ended in the past, and if its conjugation is accurate.