VerifiedHint: Look for pointers suggesting which tense to use. The action has not yet occurred in the given sentence. These pointers are indicators of certain tenses.
Complete solution:
In the given sentence, the writer makes use of direct speech. We can infer that the mentioned action has not yet happened in the case of the direct speech.
This means that the sentence requires some form of the future tense. Any form of future tense can technically fit into the blank, as all future tenses signify the action being incomplete. The tenses of present and past cannot fit into this sentence, as we need only the future tense.
In grammar, a future tense is a verb form that generally marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future.
Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a) will meet - This construction is in the future tense. It is constructed with the word ‘will’ + the root verb. This fits perfectly into the context of the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct answer.
b) met - This construction is in the past tense. It is not the required tense. This does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) have met - This construction is in the present perfect tense. It is not the required tense. This does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) are meeting - This construction is in the present continuous tense. It is not the required tense. This does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
Hence, the correct answer is option ‘a’.
Note: Choose the most appropriate option given the context of the sentence. Make sure all the forms of the verb are aligning with each other and work with each other perfectly.
