Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
Only after the minister's resignation ______ public trust begin to be restored.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer
did
Explanation
Core Meaning: The sentence explains that public confidence only started coming back after the minister stepped down from office.
Other Options: This sentence uses a grammatical structure called negative inversion. When a sentence begins with a restrictive phrase like "Only after...", the auxiliary verb must come before the subject ("public trust"). Since the main verb "begin" is in its base form, it requires the auxiliary verb did to form the past tense simple aspect. Using "has" or "had" would require the main verb to be a past participle (begun), and using "was" would require a passive structure or a present participle (beginning), making options 2, 3, and 4 grammatically incorrect.
Key Points
Core Definition: Negative inversion shifts an auxiliary verb ahead of the subject when a sentence is introduced by restrictive or negative expressions such as only after, not only, or hardly.
Grammatical Role: Selecting the correct past-tense auxiliary verb to trigger an inversion while matching the bare infinitive form of the main predicate.