Standard English ConventionsHardVerb tense: past perfect for an earlier past event
Standard English Conventions practice question
By the time the rescue boat reached the rocks, the tide ____ most of the sandbar.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A. had coveredCorrect
- B. covers
- C. has covered
- D. covering
Answer: A. had covered
The covering was complete before another past event, so the past perfect 'had covered'.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. covers
- Present tense clashes with 'reached'.
- C. has covered
- Present perfect doesn't sit before a past event.
- D. covering
- 'Covering' leaves the clause without a finite verb.
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