Improve the bracketed part of the sentence: "It was hard to believe that she (were) dead for three months."

Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question tests your understanding of tense, subject verb agreement, and natural usage in reported statements. The sentence given is "It was hard to believe that she (were) dead for three months." You must choose the best replacement for "were" so that the sentence sounds natural and grammatically correct in standard English.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Original structure: "It was hard to believe that she ___ dead for three months."
• Subject of the clause: "she" (third person singular).
• Time expression: "for three months", suggesting a period of time up to some reference point.
• Options include "was", "has been", "is", "no improvement", "had been".
• The speaker is referring to a duration of death extending over three months.

Concept / Approach:
We must consider both subject verb agreement and tense meaning. First, "she were" is wrong because with a singular subject "she", we use "was" or a perfect form, not "were", in an ordinary statement. Second, the presence of "for three months" suggests a continuing state over that period. The natural way to express a continuing state up to a point close to the speaker's perspective is the present perfect ("has been dead for three months") when the situation is still true. Even though the main clause uses "was hard to believe", in narrative English it is acceptable to retain "has been" to emphasise that the state of being dead lasted for those three months and is seen as a block of time connected to that point.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Correct the agreement error: "were" cannot be used with singular "she" in this indicative context, so "no improvement" is incorrect.Step 2: Consider "was dead for three months". This sounds as if she was dead for exactly three months and then perhaps stopped being dead, which is logically impossible.Step 3: Consider "has been dead for three months", which neatly expresses a continuous state over a duration of three months.Step 4: Test "is dead for three months": this is ungrammatical with a duration phrase; we normally say "has been dead for three months".Step 5: "had been" would be used if we were talking about a time in the past relative to another past time, but that additional past reference point is not clearly expressed in the sentence. "Has been" is therefore the most natural choice in standard exam usage.

Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine someone speaking not long after her death: "It is hard to believe that she has been dead for three months." Now put the sentence into a narrative in the past: "Back then, it was hard to believe that she has been dead for three months." In modern English, especially in reported speech that refers to an ongoing or very relevant state, the present perfect is often retained because the state (her death and its duration) is still true and emotionally present. This sounds more natural than "was dead for three months" and more directly matches the meaning implied by "for three months".

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• was: "She was dead for three months" incorrectly suggests that the state ended after three months, which is illogical when talking about death.
• is: "It was hard to believe that she is dead for three months" mixes past and present in a jarring way and uses "is" incorrectly with "for three months".
• no improvement: Keeps "were", which is wrong because "she" requires "was" or a perfect form, not "were", in standard indicative mood.
• had been: Typically used when the duration up to a past point is being described relative to another past event ("By then she had been dead for three months"). The sentence does not clearly set up such a two level past time frame.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often choose "was" simply to fix the agreement error, forgetting to check whether it matches the logic of the sentence with a duration phrase. Another common mistake is to always backshift tenses (changing "has been" to "had been") whenever a reporting verb is in the past, even when the sense of an ongoing state is still strongly felt. Remember that context and meaning must guide the choice of tense, not just mechanical rules.

Final Answer:
The best replacement is "has been", giving the sentence: "It was hard to believe that she has been dead for three months."