Question

Fill in the blank with the appropriate tense:
A fishing village once existed where now _____ the city of Mumbai.

• A. lies
• B. lay
• C. has lain
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is A lies

Tense is used to provide more information about an action ( its time, completeness, etc.). Option A)lies is correct as the principal cause uses the simple past tense and therefore, the subordinate clause can use simple past, simple present,or past perfect tense. The subordinate clause must use the simple present tense as it is about a general fact. The other options are wrong as the sentence talks about the history of a place (once) and the present state of that place now and therefore, present perfect tense cannot be used here. The correct answer is A)lies.