Fill in the blank number 3. | SSC MTS 2024 PYQ

In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

One day we saw Kala Nag. The monsoons had burst with all their fury, and it had rained in the night. The earth, which had lain parched and dry under the withering heat of the summer sun, was teeming ____1___ life. In little pools, frogs croaked. The muddy ground was littered with ____2___ worms, centipedes and velvety lady-birds. Grass ____3____ begun to show and the banana leaves glistened bright and glossy green. The _____4___ had flooded Kala Nag’s hole. He sat in an open patch on the lawn. His shiny black hood glistened in the sunlight. He was big, almost six feet in _____5____ and rounded and fleshy, as my wrist. “Looks like a King Cobra. Let’s get him.'

Fill in the blank number 3.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B

Explanation

The correct answer is option 1 i.e. had.

Context: The sentence is in the past tense, describing what happened after the rain. The grass had already started to appear before the narrator saw Kala Nag, so the past perfect tense is needed.

Meaning of the words:
Had: Past perfect tense, used for an action completed before another past action. (Correct word)
Is: Present tense, not suitable for a past event.
Was: Simple past tense of “be”, not correct for indicating an earlier completed action.

Correct word: Had

Reason: The action of the grass starting to grow happened before the main past event (seeing Kala Nag), so “had” correctly shows this sequence.

Final Sentence: Grass had begun to show and the banana leaves glistened bright and glossy green.

Hence, the chosen option is correct.

SSC MTS 2024 PYQ — Question 88