Question

Choose the correct form of the verb given in the bracket that completes the sentence correctly:
We __________ our lunch half an hour ago. (Finish)

a) had finished
b) would have finished
c) finished
d) have finished

Answer 1

Hint: The sentence is constructed in such a way that we can guess that the action happened in the near past.

Complete answer:

The sentence is very clear. The phrase ‘half an hour ago’ is used in the sentence. This means that the action happened not very long ago. So, to convey that an action happened not very long ago, we need to use Simple Past Tense.

The Simple Past Tense is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now. The simple past is the basic form of past tense in English. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past and action duration is not important. The action can last for any amount of time.
It is constructed by adding a simple suffix of ‘-ed’ to the root verb. So, its official construction is ‘root verb + ed’.

Now, we know exactly which tense to use and how to use it. Let’s look at our given options:

had finished - This construction is used for the Past Perfect Tense, as it uses the auxiliary ‘had’ and the verb has the suffix ‘-ed’. It is not the required tense. So, this is an incorrect tense.
would have finished - This construction is the Conditional Tense, which is commonly used. It contains the auxiliary ‘would’, as it is used to speculate about what ‘would’ happen. It is not the required tense. So, this is an incorrect option.
finished - This construction is the Simple Past Tense. It is constructed by simply adding ‘-ed’ to the root verb. It is the required tense. So, this is the correct option.
have finished - This construction is the Present Perfect Tense. It is constructed by using the auxiliaries ‘has/have’ with a verb ending with ‘-ed’. This is not the required tense. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note: Try to understand the exact meaning of the sentence and then choose the tense for the verb. Then, choose the appropriate option that is grammatically correct.