Fill in the blank with the most appropriate words: "The starving man _____ able to walk." Choose the option that gives a grammatically correct and meaningful sentence.

Introduction / Context:
This grammar and usage question tests your understanding of subject verb agreement and the correct use of adverbs with auxiliary verbs in English. The sentence describes a starving man whose physical strength has been reduced so much that he could hardly walk. The blank must be filled with a verb phrase that matches the subject "the starving man" in both number and tense while preserving this meaning of difficulty.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Subject: "The starving man" (singular, third person). - Predicate fragment: "_____ able to walk." - Options: "can barely", "were barely", "are barely", "was barely". - The sentence refers to a past situation in which he had very little strength.

Concept / Approach:
For a singular subject like "the starving man", we require a singular verb form. In the simple past tense, the correct auxiliary verb for a singular subject is "was". To express that he had almost no strength to walk, we combine the verb "was" with the adverb "barely" before the complement "able to walk". The correct and natural English expression is therefore "was barely able to walk". Other options either use the wrong tense, the wrong number, or do not fit smoothly with the adjective "able".

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the subject as singular: "The starving man". A singular subject requires a singular verb form. Step 2: Notice that the sentence clearly describes a condition in the past, not a general timeless fact. Therefore, a past tense auxiliary is more appropriate than a present tense modal. Step 3: Test "was barely": "The starving man was barely able to walk." This is grammatically correct and clearly conveys that he almost could not walk. Step 4: Test "can barely": "The starving man can barely able to walk" is incorrect because "can" should be followed by a bare infinitive verb ("walk"), not by "able to walk". The structure "can barely walk" would be correct, but that is not the option given. Step 5: Test "were barely" and "are barely". Both "were" and "are" are plural forms used with plural subjects or with "you". Using them with "the starving man" breaks subject verb agreement. Step 6: Conclude that "was barely" is the only option that satisfies subject verb agreement, tense, and idiomatic usage with "able to walk".

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare similar sentences: "The injured player was barely able to stand" or "The old woman was barely able to climb the stairs." All follow the same pattern "was barely able to + verb". This pattern is natural and commonly used in English, which further confirms that "was barely" is the correct choice in the given sentence.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"Can barely" would need to be followed by a main verb, as in "can barely walk", not by "able to walk". "Were barely" and "are barely" are plural forms and cannot be used with the singular subject "the starving man". They would only be correct with a plural subject such as "the starving men". Therefore, these three options are grammatically incorrect in this sentence.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates often focus only on the meaning of "barely" and forget to check verb agreement and correct combinations like "was able to" versus "can". It is important to remember that "can" and "able to" are not usually combined directly. Instead, you use "can walk" or "was able to walk". Paying attention to number (singular/plural) and tense, as well as common verb patterns, will greatly improve accuracy in cloze tests.

Final Answer:
was barely correctly completes the sentence as "The starving man was barely able to walk."