Question

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words.
I _____ to him because I thought I _____ him somewhere.
A. Had spoken / saw
B. Spoke / saw
C. Spoke / had seen
D. Had spoken / had seen

Answer 1

Hint:Tense is a category in grammar that expresses time reference. Tenses are usually manifested by the use of unique forms of verbs, especially in their conjugation patterns.

Complete answer:
There are three tenses in which we can use the verbs: past, present , and future. The past explains things which have already happened for example, yesterday, last week). To explain events that are taking place at the moment, or continuous events, the use of present tense is seen. The future tense defines things that are yet to happen for example, tomorrow, later, next year.

Now, let us look at the given question. The meaning applies to an event that has taken place without using an adverb of time in the past. This is simple past tense. The second blank should have a verb that implies an occurrence that occurred before the event took place in the background. Therefore, the verb's past perfect tense form should be used. "Had spoken / saw" is wrong, as I had spoken to him after seeing him somewhere after the action. So, both verbs have taken the wrong tense shape.

In choice B, "Spoke / saw" is incorrect as both verbs have taken the form of the simple past. The act of seeing him, however, had taken place before speaking to him. Therefore, the second blank cannot take the verb's simple past form. Spoke / had seen "is right as, according to the events that happened, both verbs have taken the correct form." Spoke" is the simple past form of the verb 'talk' and "had seen" as used in the past perfect tense is the proper form of auxiliary had + V2."
"Had spoken / had seen" is incorrect as it is not appropriate for all blanks to take the perfect form of the past. Therefore, the correct answer is option C.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘C’

Note:Before answering the question, you should always find the tense in which the sentence is given. After knowing the tense, it becomes easy to fill in the blank with the appropriate word.