Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. If there is no need to substitute it, select ‘No substitution’.

Half of the property given to his sons by the businessman last year.

The correct answer is Half of the property was given.

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Analyze the original sentence:
The original sentence is: "Half of the property given to his sons by the businessman last year."

2. Identify the grammatical error:
The sentence describes an action ("given") performed by the businessman on the receiver of the action ("Half of the property"). Since the receiver of the action is the subject, the sentence must be in the passive voice.
In the original underlined segment, "given" is a past participle used without an auxiliary verb (such as was, is, etc.), making the sentence grammatically incomplete (it lacks a finite verb for the main clause).

3. Determine the correct tense:
The sentence contains the time marker "last year", which explicitly refers to a completed action in the past. Therefore, the verb must be in the simple past tense passive voice.

4. Formulate the passive voice structure:
The formula for simple past passive is:
Subject + was/were + past participle (V3)
Here, "Half of the property" is a singular noun phrase indicating a single portion/amount, which agrees with the singular auxiliary verb "was". Thus, we get "was given".

5. Evaluate the options:
- "No substitution": Incorrect, as the original sentence lacks a finite verb.
- "Half of the property is given": Incorrect, as "is given" is present tense, which contradicts the past time marker "last year".
- "Half of the property has been given": Incorrect, as "has been given" is present perfect tense, which is not used with specific past time expressions like "last year".
- "Half of the property was given": Correct, as it correctly uses the simple past passive voice to match the time frame of "last year".