Fill in the blank with present participle :I met a boy _______ a box o...
The present participle ends with -ing. It represents an action which is going on or is incomplete or imperfect. So the statement is, I met boy carrying a box of chocolates.
Fill in the blank with present participle :I met a boy _______ a box o...
Present Participle
A present participle is a verb form that ends in -ing and is used to form verb tenses, progressive verb forms, and adjectives. In this case, the present participle is needed to complete the sentence "I met a boy _______ a box of chocolates."
Options:
a) carried
b) carrying
c) was carrying
d) had carrying
Explanation:
To determine the correct present participle in this sentence, we need to consider the context and the verb tense. The sentence is in the simple past tense ("I met"), so the present participle should also be in the past tense.
Option a) carried
This is the past tense form of the verb "carry," but it is not a present participle.
Option b) carrying
This is the correct answer. "Carrying" is the present participle of the verb "carry." It is used to show that the boy was in the process of carrying a box of chocolates when I met him.
Option c) was carrying
This is the past continuous tense of the verb "carry." While it is grammatically correct, it does not fit the context of the sentence. The sentence is in the simple past tense, so using the past continuous tense would imply that the action of carrying the box of chocolates was ongoing at a specific point in the past, which is not indicated in the sentence.
Option d) had carrying
This is not a grammatically correct phrase. The verb "carry" cannot be used in the past perfect tense with the present participle "carrying."
Therefore, the correct answer is option b) carrying.