Choose the correct past tense form of the verb in the sentence: My mother _____ me to be a good human being.

Introduction / Context:
This question focuses on correct verb tense usage in a simple declarative sentence. The sentence is about something that happened in the past: “My mother teach me to be a good human being.” You must recognise that the teaching happened earlier in the speaker’s life and choose the verb form that correctly conveys a completed past action in standard English.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Subject: “My mother” (singular, third person).
• Base verb in the sentence: “teach”.
• Meaning: The speaker’s mother instructed or guided them in the past.
• We have options that include different verb forms such as “taught”, “thought”, “talked” and “No improvement”.

Concept / Approach:
When we talk about an action that was completed in the past and is not directly connected to the present moment, English typically uses the simple past tense. The simple past form of “teach” is “taught”. In addition, the verb must agree with the subject in number and person. “My mother” is singular, so in the present tense we would say “My mother teaches me”; in the past tense we say “My mother taught me”. The other given alternatives either change the meaning completely or use a different verb.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the tense implied by the context. The sentence refers to upbringing and moral instruction in the past, which suits the simple past tense. Step 2: Recognise that the base form “teach” is incorrect in the given sentence, because it lacks agreement with “mother” and does not show that the action is in the past. Step 3: Look at the available options. Option A “taught” is the simple past form of “teach” and fits perfectly with the intended meaning. Step 4: Option B “thought” is the past form of “think” and would completely change the meaning of the sentence; it does not convey the idea of teaching or instruction. Step 5: Option C “talked” is the past form of “talk” and again does not match the intended sense of “teach”. Step 6: “No improvement” would leave the ungrammatical phrase “mother teach me”, which is incorrect for a third-person singular subject.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify by constructing similar sentences: “My teacher taught me mathematics”, “Her grandfather taught her to ride a bicycle”, “Our coach taught us how to work as a team”. In every case, “taught” is the correct simple past form. If we used “teach” or “teached”, the sentences would be wrong. The verb “teach” is irregular, so you must memorise its forms: teach (base), taught (past and past participle), teaching (gerund/participle).

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
“thought”: changes the core meaning from teaching to thinking; “My mother thought me to be a good human being” is incorrect. “talked”: describes speaking, not instructing; the sentence would then mean only that the mother spoke to the child, not that she educated or guided them. “No improvement”: leaves a subject–verb agreement error, as “my mother teach me” is not acceptable in standard English.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to confuse similar-sounding verbs like “teach” and “think” or to forget that “teach” is irregular. Some students also forget to adjust the verb to match the subject when they change tense. To avoid this, practise listing the forms of common irregular verbs: “teach–taught–taught”, “bring–brought–brought”, “buy–bought–bought” and so on. Recognising these patterns will help you quickly eliminate wrong options in exam questions.

Final Answer:
The correct improvement is taught, so the sentence becomes “My mother taught me to be a good human being.”