Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumVerbs, Tenses, and Aspect

Read the sentence below and choose the verb form that grammatically completes the expression:

"The chief magistrate declared that it was high time the municipal council _______ the dilapidated bridge to avert a major disaster."

Which verb form correctly fills the blank space?

  1. repairedAnswer
  2. B
    repair
  3. C
    repairs
  4. D
    has repaired

Answer

The correct verb form is 'repaired'.
The expression 'it is high time' (or its reported speech form 'it was high time') when followed by a subject noun phrase ('the municipal council') takes a past subjunctive verb form, which is morphologically identical to the simple past tense ('repaired'). This structure highlights that an event is overdue.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the introductory structural expression in the clause
The clause contains the fixed expression 'it was high time' (a past-shifted variant of 'it is high time').
Recognizing special idiomatic structures determines the required verb mood and tense.
2
Apply the rule governing unreal past / subjunctive expressions with 'it is high time'
When 'it is high time' or 'it is time' is followed directly by a subject noun phrase ('the municipal council'), the verb that follows must take the simple past tense form to indicate an action that should already have been performed.
Grammatical convention in Standard English requires a past tense form to denote present/past unreal urgency.
3
Select the option containing the simple past form
'repaired' is the simple past form of the verb 'repair'.
Only 'repaired' fulfills the unreal past requirement.

Key Concept

Unreal Past Tense with 'It is high time'
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Verbs, Tenses, and Aspect

More questions from this topic