Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
While they were mending the wall, the roof ____ in.

• A. falls
• B. fell
• C. is falling
• D. had fallen

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

fell

The sentence indicates that the roof collapsed when the subjects were fixing it. Here, 'were mending' indicates that the tense of the sentence is past tense and that the action is ongoing and thus, incomplete. Thus, the answer must be in the past tense and must indicate an incomplete action.

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

Option B is correct. 'fell' is in the past tense and indicates an incomplete action. Also, the phrasal verb 'fell in' means 'collapsed' and so, it fits perfectly in the sentence.

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

Option D is incorrect. 'had fallen' is in the past perfect tense. Although in past tense, perfect tenses are used to indicate a complete action. Thus, it does not indicate an incomplete action and is incorrect.