Question

Nobody knows what _____ at the meeting because she _____ about it to anyone.
Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate option
A) was said/hasn’t spoken
B) is said/hasn’t spoken
C) has said/hasn’t spoken
D) was said/didn’t speaks
E) is being said/doesn’t speak

Answer 1

Hint: The above question asks us to use appropriate tenses to complete the given sentence and make it meaningful. Tense means the time at which the action of the verb takes place. Present, Past and Future are the three different main tenses. In English, the three principle tenses can take four primary angles: simple, perfect, continuous (also known as progressive), and perfect continuous.

Complete answer:
Tenses structure the foundation of the English language. The strained, which is generally fitting to communicate the thought, ought to be utilized; else the assertion/question would communicate something inverse to what you needed to state or compose. Right utilization of tense will infer the utilization of the right type of action word with an appropriate helper.

Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) was said/hasn’t spoken: The above option is correct as the sentence is made up of two clauses joined together by a conjunction. The first clause/ part of the sentence is in simple past tense and thus, ‘was said’ is the correct form of verbs to be used there. The second clause/ part of the sentence is in the present perfect tense and thus, ‘hasn’t spoken’ is perfect for the blank to be filled there.

Option B) is said/hasn’t spoken: The above option is incorrect as the first clause/ part of the sentence is in simple past tense and thus, ‘is said’ is not the correct form of verbs to be used there. But the second clause/ part of the sentence is in the present perfect tense and thus, ‘hasn’t spoken’ is perfect for the blank to be filled there.

Option C) has said/hasn’t spoken: The above option is incorrect as the first clause/ part of the sentence is in simple past tense and thus, ‘has said’ is not the correct form of verbs to be used there. But the second clause/ part of the sentence is in the present perfect tense and thus, ‘hasn’t spoken’ is perfect for the blank to be filled there.

Option D) was said/didn’t speaks: The above option is incorrect as even though, the first clause/ part of the sentence is in simple past tense and ‘was said’ is the correct form of verbs to be used there, the second clause/ part of the sentence is in the present perfect tense and thus, ‘didn’t spoken’ is not correct for the blank to be filled there.

Option E) is being said/doesn’t speak: The above option is incorrect as the first clause/ part of the sentence is in simple past tense and thus, ‘is being said’ is not the correct form of verbs to be used there. Also, the second clause/ part of the sentence is in the present perfect tense and thus, ‘doesn’t spoken’ is perfect for the blank to be filled there.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note:
i) Different tenses have different uses. The simple past or past indefinite has two uses:
- It expresses a past action or event.
- It is also used in the sense of ‘used to do’ to express a habitual action in the past.
ii) Similarly, the present perfect tense has two uses:
- It expresses an action just completed.
- It is sometimes used to refer to a past action in a more general sort of way.