Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence:
He is sleeping when I called him.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. was sleeping when I called.
Error concept: related to the use of incorrect tense/verb.
What is wrong: The verb 'is sleeping' (Present Continuous) is incorrectly used with the past time action 'called.'
Grammatical concept: When one action was already in progress (continuous) at a specific point in the past when another shorter action happened, we use the Past Continuous Tense (was/were + V-ing) for the ongoing action and the Simple Past Tense (V2) for the interrupting action.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Here, the verb 'is' is the present form, but the clause 'when I called him' establishes a past context. Using present and past tenses together in this manner is incorrect.
How to correct: 'is sleeping' should be replaced with 'was sleeping' to maintain tense consistency with the past action 'called.'
Correct phrase: was sleeping when I called.
Final sentence: He was sleeping when I called him.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.