16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsHardSimple past with a specific past time

Standard English Conventions practice question

The last steam ferry ____ the crossing in 1961, and the route closed the following year.

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

  1. A. madeCorrect
  2. B. makes
  3. C. has made
  4. D. making

Answer: A. made

A specific past year takes the simple past: 'made … in 1961'.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. makes
Present tense clashes with 1961.
C. has made
Present perfect is not used with a specific past date.
D. making
'Making' leaves no finite verb.

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