Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option? The police ______ the thief immediately.

Appeared in: JSSH Staff Nurse - 2019

Explanation

The sentence describes a specific, completed action in the past.
The adverb 'immediately' acts as a time marker, indicating that the action happened at a definite moment.
The Simple Past Tense ('Caught') is the correct tense for actions that started and finished at a specific time in the past.
The simple past form 'caught' works for both singular and plural subjects, fitting 'The police' (a plural noun).

Option A: 'Have caught' is the Present Perfect tense, which is used for actions at an indefinite time in the past or actions with a result in the present. It clashes with the specific time marker 'immediately'.
Option C: 'Catching' is a present participle, not a complete verb. It requires an auxiliary (helping) verb like 'is', 'are', 'was', or 'were' to form a valid tense.
Option D: 'Catch' is the Simple Present tense, used for habitual actions, routines, or general truths. It does not fit the context of a single, completed past event.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Verb Tense Agreement (Simple Past) as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
This is a non-clinical question testing English grammar.
Practical Application: Correct verb tense is crucial for clear and accurate documentation in nursing, such as patient notes and incident reports. For example, writing 'Patient fell' (Simple Past) is different from 'Patient has fallen' (Present Perfect), which implies a more recent event with ongoing relevance.
What if? If the sentence was 'The police ______ criminals every day,' the correct answer would be 'catch' (Simple Present) because it describes a habitual action.

How to Approach the Question

First, read the entire sentence to understand its context: 'The police ______ the thief immediately.'
Identify any time markers or adverbs. The word 'immediately' points to a specific, completed action in the past.
Analyze the subject of the sentence. 'The police' is a plural noun.
Evaluate each option based on the context and time marker.
Eliminate 'Catching' because it's an incomplete verb form.
Eliminate 'Catch' (Simple Present) because the sentence describes a single past event, not a habit.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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Practise the full JSSH Staff Nurse - 2019

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.