Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank no. 1.

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

Erosion of America's farmland by wind and water (1)._________ a problem since settlers first put the prairies and grasslands (2) __________ the plow in the 19^th century. By the 1930s, more than 282 million acres of farmland were (3) ____________ by erosion. After 40 years of conservation efforts, soil erosion has (4) ________________ due to new demands placed (5) _____________ the land by heavy crop production.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is option 4 i.e. has been.

Context:
The sentence talks about a problem that started in the past (when settlers began farming) and still continues in the present. For such situations, we use the Present Perfect Tense — has/have been.

Meaning of the words:

Have been: used with plural subjects (e.g., “They have been”).
Was been: grammatically incorrect.
Had been: used for actions that were true before another past event.
Has been: used for actions that started in the past and continue till now (with singular subject).

Correct word:
The subject “Erosion” is singular, so the correct form is “has been.”

Reason:
“Erosion of America’s farmland by wind and water has been a problem since settlers first put the prairies and grasslands under the plow.”
This shows the problem started in the 19th century and still exists.

Final Sentence:
Erosion of America’s farmland by wind and water has been a problem since settlers first put the prairies and grasslands under the plow in the 19th century.

Hence, the chosen option is correct.

SSC GD 2025 PYQ — Question 5