Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Question

Yesterday afternoon the team ____ its final match of the season in front of a record crowd.

Accepted Answer

A. played. 'Yesterday afternoon' places the action in the past, so the verb must be in the past tense: 'played'.

Answer

B. plays — 'plays' is present tense, but 'yesterday' tells us the match is already over.

Answer

C. will play — 'will play' points to the future, which contradicts 'yesterday'.

Answer

D. playing — 'playing' on its own isn't a complete verb — it would need a helper such as 'was'. As written, the sentence has no main verb.

Standard English Conventions practice question