Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. If there is no need to substitute it, select ‘No substitution required’.
Ben was always been a good father.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 3 i.e. had always been.
- The word "always" implies a continuous action or state.
- "Was" is a simple past tense verb, indicating a past action or state. In this context, it refers to a past quality of being a good father.
- "Had" is used to form the past perfect tense, which is appropriate for indicating that something had been true in the past and continued to be true up to a certain point in the past.
- "Always" is retained to emphasize that this quality of being a good father was continuous over time.
So, the change from "was always been" to "had always been" removes the redundancy and ensures correct verb tense.
The corrected sentence should be "Ben had always been a good father."