For each blank in the following sentences, select the present tense helping verb can or the past tense could. To determine whether a sentence is in the present or past tense, look at other verbs in the sentence or look for a time word.
-When I ate the pancakes, I __________ taste the buckwheat flour.
A) can
B) could

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The past tense "ate" indicates that the sentence is in the past tense, so the helping verb should also be in the past tense. The past tense helping verb is "could", not "can". Therefore, the correct answer is B) could.

For Each Blank in the Following Sentences, Select the Present