Fill in the blank with the correct form of the past tense of the verb given in the brackets.

We_______(surprise) at the news of her defeat.

Solution (By Examveda Team)

In the given sentence "We were surprised at the news of her defeat," the correct form of the past tense of the verb "surprise" is used. The word "were" is the past tense form of the verb "to be" (be) for the pronoun "we."

The sentence talks about the state of being surprised at the news of her defeat in the past. The past tense form "were surprised" correctly indicates that the surprise occurred in the past.

The other options are not appropriate for this sentence. Option A, "surprised," is the past participle form of the verb but does not have the auxiliary verb "were" to form the past tense. Option B, "surprising," is in the present participle form and does not fit the context of the sentence referring to a past event. Option D, "had been surprised," is in the past perfect continuous tense and is not required in this sentence. Therefore, the correct answer is "were surprised" (Option C).