Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word. Last night I ________ you, but the phone was out of order. A. would phone B. phoned C. were going to phone D. did phone E. didn’t phone

The correct answer is: B. phoned

The sentence is in the past tense, so we need to use a past tense verb. The other options are not in the past tense:

• Would phone is in the past tense form of the modal verb “will”, which is used to express intention or possibility. In this case, it would mean that I intended to phone you, but I didn’t.
• Were going to phone is in the past tense form of the verb “to be going to”, which is used to express intention or future plans. In this case, it would mean that I was planning to phone you, but I didn’t.
• Did phone is the past tense form of the verb “to phone”, which means to call someone on the phone. This is the correct answer because it is the only option that is in the past tense and makes sense in the context of the sentence.
• Didn’t phone is the negative form of the past tense of the verb “to phone”. This is not the correct answer because it does not make sense in the context of the sentence. If I didn’t phone you, then I wouldn’t be saying that I tried to phone you but the phone was out of order.