Question

Choose the correct alternative of the verb given in brackets.
 When I reached the theatre, the play _____ (start).
a. had started
b. starts
c. will start
d. to be started

Answer 1

Hint:The student should read the sentence carefully to understand when the event is supposed to be taking place. Then the options should be carefully distinguished to find out whether they are correct or not.

Complete answer: A verb is a content word that denotes an action, occurrence, or state of existence. It is the word class that serves as the predicate of a sentence.
In the given question, we have to find out which of the given options includes the answer in the past perfect tense, as this is the perfective tense used to express action completed in the past.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question -
Option (a.), 'had started', refers to ‘past perfect tense’.
Therefore, option (a.) is correct as we had to find out which of the given options includes the answer in the past perfect tense, as this is the perfective tense used to express action completed in the past.
Option (b.), ‘starts', refers to ‘simple present tense’.
Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect as the answer must be in the past perfect tense.
Option (c.), ‘will start', refers to ‘simple future tense’.
Therefore, option (c.) is incorrect as the answer must be in the past perfect tense.
Option (d.), ‘to be started', refers to ‘simple past tense’.
Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as the answer must be in the past perfect tense.
Thus, option a is correct.

Note: In this question, it will be helpful for the student to recall the concept of tenses. Tense is a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time. There are three tenses - past, present, and future.