Question

Fill in the blank with the suitable option:

Mary fell asleep while she _______.

• A. has been reading the paper
  
• B. had been reading the paper
  
• C. was reading the paper
  
• D. will read the paper
  

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Option B is the correct answer because ‘was’ is the past tense of is, and is correct because the statement is in the past tense.

Option A is incorrect because ‘has been reading’ means that she was reading before and is still reading which is incorrect.

Option C is incorrect because had been reading’ is a past perfect participle that means she was reading before and is still reading which is wrong.

Option D is incorrect because will is the future tense while the statement is in past tense.