Question

Complete the sentence with the correct form of the verb given in the bracket.
They _____ the work when the teacher entered the class. (finish)
a. finished
b. would have finished
c. haven’t finished
d. had finished

Answer 1

Hint:
Try to look for certain pointer words. They will help you understand which option you are looking for as they help to narrow down the exact tense required. Then, go through the given options, and choose the most appropriate option accordingly.

Complete answer:
 We can identify the kind of verb needed when we look at the subject of the sentence. In order to do that, we need to deconstruct the given sentence-
The subject is ‘they’ which refers to the students in this case. This indicates that the subject is plural. This means that only verbs that are plural can go with the given subject. The verbs that we need to look for should match the plural subject.
For this particular sentence, since we need emphasis, we will use the past perfect tense.
The past perfect tense is usually formed by adding the helping verb ‘had’ to a past participle.

Now we know what we are looking for from the given answers. Let’s look at the given options-
a. finished - This verb does not fit into the given sentence as it does not lend the given sentence complete meaning. This is not the required answer. So, this is not the correct option.
b. would have finished - This verb is in the conditional tense and it does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is not the correct option.
c. haven’t finished - This verb is in the present perfect tense and it is negative so, it does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is not the correct option.
d. had finished - This verb is in the correct tense and it fits perfectly into the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note:
 The sentence has the verb ‘entered’ and the action was completed simultaneously with another. Based on this information, we can safely assume that the action has already happened in the past, as it is a situation that has taken place. The subject is plural. This will help you determine the answer.