Question

Fill in the blank using appropriate tense forms from the options given.
He can prove his point, provided he _____ the opportunity.
A. Gives
B. Is given
C. Has given
D. Gave

Answer 1

Hint: We will use the simple present tense to indicate that the subject is provided with an opportunity to prove his point.

Complete answer: As given in the hint, we have used the present tense to indicate an action that is taking place in the present.
Let us look at the structure and usage of the present tense form-
Structure: Is/am/are + third form of the verb/ past participle form.
Usage: She said she can do it if she is given this task. Here, we can understand that X would be able to do it if she is provided with that task.
In the given question: We can conclude that X can prove his point if he is given the opportunity to do so.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option A. ‘Gives’ is an incorrect option as it is given in the simple present tense form of the verb ‘give’ and it indicates that X is the person who is himself providing the opportunity.
Option B. ‘Is given’ is the correct option because it indicates that X should be provided with an opportunity to prove his point.
Option C. ‘Has given’ is an incorrect option because it has been given in present perfect tense and it indicates that X is the one who is providing the opportunity.
Option D. ‘Gave’ is an incorrect option because it has been given in the simple past tense form and it indicates that X is providing the opportunity to others. The correct answer is Option ‘b’.

Note: It is important to notice the auxiliary verbs or helping verbs in the sentence to identify the tense we need to use. In the above-given sentence, we can see the use of ‘can’. Hence, we have used the present tense.