Bill Gates didn't _______ ( seem )like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first bussiness with Microsoft co- founder Paul Allen ______ ( Call ) Traf O- Data . While this early idea didn't work , Gates ' later , ______ ( create ) the global empire that is Microsoft.

Review past tenses here to decide what words should go in each blank:

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses.htm

Let us know what you decide, and someone here will check your work.

To complete the blanks in the sentence correctly, we can follow these steps:

1. Identify the tense and form needed for each blank.
2. Look for clues in the surrounding context to determine the appropriate verb form.
3. Conjugate the verbs to match the subject and tense.

Now, let's go through each blank:

1. "Bill Gates didn't _______ (seem) like a shoe-in for success..." - The verb should be in the base form because "didn't" indicates the negative form of the past simple tense.

2. "starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen ______ (call) Traf O-Data." - The verb should be in the past simple tense because it relates to a past event.

3. "Gates' later ______ (create) the global empire that is Microsoft." - The verb should be in the base form because there is no auxiliary or helping verb before it.

Now let's fill in the blanks:

1. "Bill Gates didn't seem like a shoe-in for success..."
Explanation: The base form of the verb "seem" is used because of the negative form "didn't" (past simple tense).

2. "...starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf O-Data."
Explanation: The verb "call" is in the past simple tense because it refers to a past event.

3. "Gates' later created the global empire that is Microsoft."
Explanation: The base form of the verb "create" is used because there is no auxiliary or helping verb before it.