Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word. A: Can I speak to Mr. Rich? B: I’m sorry, he _____________. A. is sleeping B. sleeps C. slept D. was sleeping

The correct answer is: A. is sleeping

The sentence “I’m sorry, he is sleeping” is in the present tense. This means that the action of sleeping is happening at the time of speaking. The other options are not in the present tense. Option B, “sleeps”, is in the simple present tense. This tense is used to talk about general truths or habits. Option C, “slept”, is in the simple past tense. This tense is used to talk about actions that happened in the past. Option D, “was sleeping”, is in the past progressive tense. This tense is used to talk about actions that were happening at a specific time in the past.

In this case, the speaker is saying that Mr. Rich is sleeping at the time of speaking. Therefore, the correct answer is “is sleeping”.