Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable verb:
A: Did your mother tell you stories when you were small?
B: Yes, she __________ tell me Nasrettin Hodja’s stories.
A) Would
B) Used
C) Was used to
D) Is used to

Answer 1

Hint: A verb is a word that tells us what a person or a thing is doing. Thus, a verb may tell us about an action, a state of being or existence, or possession. Verbs are divided into three categories – Action Verb, Helping Verb and Linking Verb.

Complete answer:
 A verb can be described as transitive or intransitive based on whether it requires an object to express a complete thought or not.
Transitive verbs – A verb that has an object is called a transitive verb.
Intransitive verbs – A verb that has no object is called an intransitive verb.

Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) Would: The above option is correct as ‘Would’ is a modal auxiliary verb and is used to talk about the past or to talk about the future in the past which suits the tense used in the given question. It is also used to express the conditional mood. Here, ‘would’ is used to express a customary action in the past, that is, the person used to tell stories to the speaker. It's a habitual action and the sentence is in the simple past tense. Thus, it fits in the sentence.
Option B) Used: The above option is incorrect as ‘Used’ makes no sense here as it is just a verb and it can’t stay alone without any preposition to add more meaning to it to make the given sentence more meaningful. Its usage also doesn’t help to exhibit any of the three tenses in English, even though ‘used’ is a past form.
Option C) Was used to The verb ‘used to’ is a marginal modal verb and is only found in the past tense. The above option is incorrect as ‘Was used to’ makes no sense while using it in the given sentence. It is not suitable for the tense used in the question. Here, the future tense is more appropriate.
Option D) Is used to: The verb ‘used to’ is a marginal modal verb and is only found in the past tense. The above option is incorrect as ‘Is used to’ makes no sense while using it in the given sentence. Its tense is Present and thus, it is not suitable to the tense used in the question. Here, the future tense is more appropriate.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note: Verbs are a very important part of speech because without them a sentence cannot exist. They serve several purposes within a sentence:
Make a statement – The dog ran home.
Help to ask a question – Did he run home?
Give a command – Run home.
Express action – The dog ran after the ball.
Express a state of being – The dog is tired from running.