The living room is clean and tidy, ________ a dining table already laid for a meal to be cooked.
The thing that _____ is not whether you fail or not, but whether you try or not.
—Have you finished your homework yet?—Not yet, I ___ to do it just a few minutes ago.
The sound of the music ____louder and louder as the band marched nearer to me.
The news was a terrible blow to her, but she will _____ the shock soon.
Don’t mention that at the beginning of the story, or it may ____ the shocking ending.