Question

_____ the time Mr. Brown is sixty, he will have completed more than a hundred detective novels.
a) When
b) Until
c) Over
d) By

Answer 1

Hint: An adverb is a word that modifies something other than a noun. An adverb is the word class that qualifies verbs or clauses.

Complete answer:
In the given question, we have to find out which of the options given to us indicate that when Mr. Brown is sixty, he will have completed a certain number of novels.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question-
Option (a.), 'when', refers to an interrogative pronoun. Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect as this is a declarative statement and not a question.
Option (b.), ‘until', is defined as ‘Up to the time that (a condition becomes true).’Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect as there is no condition present in the sentence.
Option (c.), ‘over', is defined as ‘at or to a point across intervening space, etc.’Therefore, option (c.) is incorrect as there is no point mentioned.
Option (d.), ‘by', forms the adverb ‘by the time’ which means (idiomatic) when. Therefore, option (d.) is correct as it is correctly described when Mr. Brown is sixty, he will have completed a certain number of novels.

Note:
In this question, it will be helpful for the student to recall the concept of idiomatic phrases (like by the time). An idiomatic phrase is an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up.