Question

The fleet with the wedding party on board sailed southward on the China Sea. It was a long and perilous voyage. Stops were made at Borneo, Sumatra, Ceylon and other places, until the ships entered the Persian Gulf and the princess was safely landed. After they reached the capital of Persia the party, including the three Venetians, (17) by the Persians for weeks in a magnificent manner and costly presents (18) to all. Look at the blank with the number (17) in the passage. Which of these answers correctly completes the sentence? A) am entertained B) was entertained C) are entertained D) would be entertained

Answer 1

The best answer here is choice B. We can determine this because of the tense used throughout the passage itself. Bearing this in mind, choice B matches the tense perfectly.

Choice A does not work at all because the verb "am" makes no sense in the context of the sentence. The same is true for choice C. The passage is not in present tense, so it cannot be this choice. Choice D could make sense, except that this is in the future tense versus the past tense.