Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word to complete the sentence: Ramesh ______ into his own trap.

Introduction / Context:

Fill in the blank questions check your understanding of verb forms, tense, and common expressions in English. In this sentence, the subject Ramesh has done something in the past and the phrase into his own trap is a common idiomatic expression used to describe someone being harmed by a plan that they themselves created. The task is to choose the verb form that produces a grammatically correct and natural sounding sentence.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Sentence: Ramesh ______ into his own trap.

- Options: falling, was fell, fell, fall down.

- The intended meaning is that Ramesh, in the past, became a victim of his own plot or mistake.

- We assume a simple past description without any additional auxiliary verbs.

Concept / Approach:

The key concept here is the use of the simple past tense for a completed action. The subject is a singular proper noun, Ramesh, and the action happened in the past. In English, the simple past form of fall is fell. The expression fell into his own trap is a standard collocation used in many contexts. Other options either use the wrong form or create ungrammatical structures, so we must select the one that maintains correct tense and idiomatic usage.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

A quick way to verify is to compare with similar sentences such as He fell into the river or She fell into trouble. These sentences always use fell for a simple past event. If we tried He was fell into the river or He falling into the river without an auxiliary verb, the sentences would clearly be wrong. Applying this pattern to the original sentence confirms that Ramesh fell into his own trap is the correct form.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Falling is wrong because it needs an auxiliary verb like is, was, or has been to form a complete predicate. Was fell is wrong because it mixes an auxiliary verb with a simple past form instead of a participle. Fall down is wrong because it is in the base form and is not in the required past tense; it also clashes with the preposition into, as the idiom is fell into a trap, not fell down into a trap in this context.

Common Pitfalls:

Many learners confuse past forms and participles of irregular verbs like fall, choosing forms such as was fell or have fall. Another pitfall is to add extra words like down even when the standard expression does not require them. To avoid such mistakes, it helps to memorise common collocations like fall into a trap and to review the irregular verb table for verbs such as fall, choose, and go.

Final Answer:

The correct verb form to complete the sentence is fell, giving Ramesh fell into his own trap.