Question

Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb given in the bracket.
When I reached the temple, a group of people ______ devotional songs. (recite)

• A. Recited
• B. Were reciting
  
• C. Was reciting
• D. Had been reciting

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Was reciting

For something which is ongoing at a given time, we use past continuous tense. In the given sentence, a group of people wa singing at the moment the person reached the temple and continued it after he reached the temple as well. So, the most appropriate form of the verb is 'was reciting' i.e. option C), because 'a group' here represents a single entity. Option A) recited is in the simple past tense and so is incorrect. Option B) is plural and since we refer to a group of people and not groups, it is incorrect. Option D) is also incorrect as the tense used is in the past perfect continuous form.

So, the correct option is C) was reciting.