In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Culture is (1)_______, understanding, and protecting, like the cultivation of a garden, not the destruction or eradication of its roots. Understanding the roots and seeds, taking much care and providing instructed nourishment (2)_______ important for good gardening. Culture also is similar; understanding its acquaintance (3)______ literature and art and careful protection are required. Culture is the way of life of a particular society in which a group of people live together in one place. The society’s culture is visible in its literature, arts, social system, language and religion. It is a combination of traditions, customs, institutions, food habits, manners, morals, thoughts, tastes, views and beliefs. Usually, families (4)______ culture to the younger generations. As family system is becoming weak, schools, colleges and universities should take up this responsibility as education should promote potential values of its culture. The role of universities (5)_______ only to issue course completed certificates.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 4.
- (a)transmit
- (b)transmitted
- (c)transmits
- (d)transmitting
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The subject printed before the blank is families, a plural noun, and in the simple present a plural subject takes the verb without -s: families transmit.
The sentence also opens with Usually, an adverb of frequency. It marks a habitual action, and habitual actions in English go into the simple present, not the past.
Option (a), transmit, is the form that satisfies both — plural agreement and habitual present.
Why the others are wrong
- (b)transmitted — transmitted is past. The adverb Usually sets up a habit that still holds, and nothing in the paragraph moves the time frame backwards.
- (c)transmits — The -s form belongs to a singular subject — a family transmits. The passage prints the plural families, so the -s is one letter too many.
- (d)transmitting — transmitting is a participle and cannot stand as the main verb alone. It would need an auxiliary, as in families are transmitting, and none is printed.
Concept
The -s in the simple present marks the singular, which is the reverse of what the -s does on a noun. A family transmits, families transmit.
Adverbs of frequency — usually, often, always, rarely — are the standard signal for the simple present, because they describe what regularly happens rather than what happened once.
The fourth option tests a separate point: an -ing form needs a form of be in front of it before it can serve as the verb of a clause.
The sentence sits in a paragraph about how culture passes to younger generations, so the meaning of transmit is not in doubt. Every option is the same verb, which is the signal that only the form is being tested.
Key facts
- In the simple present, the -s ending marks a third-person singular subject: a family transmits, families transmit.
- Adverbs of frequency such as usually, often and always signal the simple present for habitual actions.
- An -ing form needs a form of be to work as a main verb: families are transmitting.
Study next
Common traps
- Carrying the -s over from the singular family without noticing the printed plural families
- Choosing the past transmitted because the sentence is about tradition, which feels like the past
This blank prints four forms of one verb — base, -s, past and -ing — so the choice is made by the subject and the time marker, never by meaning.
Verb-form blanks in the same passage format are keyed at 13 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.23 (says) and 12 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.24 (proven).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.