Question

Select the appropriate form of the verb to complete the sentence:
The boat ___ (sink) quickly but fortunately everybody ___ (rescue).
A) sank; was rescued
B) has sank; has rescued
C) sank; has rescued
D) sank; rescued

Answer 1

Hint: Tense is a category in grammar that expresses time reference. The usage of specific forms of verbs, particularly in their conjugation patterns, is usually how tenses are expressed. The past, present, and future tenses are common in many languages.

Complete answer:
As it tells an episode, the above sentence states past acts. Also, because the subject 'everybody' experiences the action 'to rescue,' the first half is in active voice ('to sink,') while the second part is in passive voice ('to be rescued,'). If there is no object after it, it will not be able to perform the action 'to rescue.' (In active voice, the verb 'rescue' would require an object.)

Let us look at the given options:
A) sank; was rescued: This is the correct option. 'Sank' is written in the simple past tense with an active voice. 'Was rescued' is written in the past tense and in the passive voice. It fulfils the requirements of the given sentence.
B) has sank; has rescued: This option is incorrect because the present perfect tense of 'has sank' and 'has rescued' contradicts the past situation of the given sentence.
C) sank; has rescued: This option is incorrect because the present perfect tense of 'has rescued' contradicts the past situation.
D) sank; rescued: This option is incorrect because 'Rescued' is a simple past tense verb in the active voice, but this part of the sentence ('was rescued') is in the passive voice since the subject cannot execute the action of 'rescued' without an object.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (A) sank; was rescued.

Note: Verbs are divided into three tenses: past, present, and future. Things that have happened in the past are described (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago). The present tense is used to describe events that are currently occurring or are in progress. The future tense is used to define things that haven't happened yet.