Complete the news item 2 | CBSE class X grammar worksheets

Question 1

The Hinduja Group ………………… Britain’s iconic Old War Office building, once occupied by Winston Churchill.

a) was buying

b) has bought

c) bought

d) has been bought

e) buys

Answer: b) has bought

Explanation

Option a) was buying

The past continuous tense is not possible here. It is used to talk about an action that was going on at a particular point of time in the past.

Option b) has bought

We use the present perfect tense to announce recent events.

Option c) bought

The simple past tense is possible in this sentence, but we prefer to use the present perfect tense for giving news of recent events.

Option d) has been bought

Has been bought is in the passive voice, but we need an active verb here because the Hinduja group is the doer.

Option e) buys

The simple present tense is only used to talk about facts and general truths.

Question 2

India ………………….. for nearly 30% of the global demand for gold.

a) is accounting

b) accounts

c) accounted

d) has been accounting

e) have been accounting

Answer: option b) accounts

Explanation

Option a) is accounting

The present continuous tense is used to talk about actions and situations that are going on at the moment of speaking.

Option b) accounts

We use the simple present tense to express facts.

Option c) accounted

The simple past tense is not used to talk about facts.

Option d) has been accounting

The present perfect continuous tense is not used to talk about facts.

Option e) have been accounting

The auxiliary verb ‘have’ does not agree with the singular noun ‘India’. Also, perfect continuous tenses are not used to talk about facts.