Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option.
When the door ____, Frank was very surprised.

• A. opens
• B. is opened
• C. was opened
• D. opening

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

was opened

In the sentence, the words 'was' and 'surprised' indicate that the tense of the sentence is past tense. Thus, the answer must also be in the past tense.

Option A is incorrect. 'opens' is in the present tense and not the past tense. Thus, using it will make the tense of the sentence inconsistent.

Option B is incorrect. 'is opened' is also in the present tense as in this case 'is' determines the tense. Thus, using it will make the sentence grammatically incorrect.

Option C is correct. 'was opened' is in the past tense. Thus, it has the correct tense and is the correct answer.

Option D is incorrect. 'opening' is a gerund and in order to make it a complete verb, an auxiliary is required. Thus, due to the lack of n auxiliary, 'opening' cannot be used because it will make the sentence grammatically incorrect.