Question

Fill up with the correct tense form of the verb given in bracket: When her mother arrived, Isha................................( finish ) laundry.

• A. finished
• B. has finished
• C. will finish
• D. had finished

Answer 1

Answer:

D. had finished

Understanding the Past Perfect Tense

• The correct tense form for the given sentence is the Past Perfect Tense: "had finished".
• The Past Perfect Tense is formed using had + past participle of the verb (e.g., had eaten, had gone, had finished).

When to Use the Past Perfect Tense

• The Past Perfect Tense is used to indicate an action that was completed before another action or a specific point in the past. It helps to show the sequence of events when both events happened in the past.
• In the given sentence, "When her mother arrived, Isha had finished laundry," two past actions are mentioned:
  • 1. Isha finished the laundry.
  • 2. Her mother arrived.
• The act of Isha finishing the laundry happened before her mother arrived. Therefore, the earlier action (finishing laundry) should be in the Past Perfect Tense, and the later action (mother arriving) should be in the Simple Past Tense.

Comparison with Other Tenses

• If we used the Simple Past Tense ("Isha finished laundry"), it would imply that Isha finished the laundry at the same time or immediately after her mother arrived, or it would simply state two separate past events without a clear chronological relationship. For instance, "When her mother arrived, Isha finished laundry" sounds awkward as it implies simultaneity or immediate succession.
• The Past Perfect clearly establishes that the laundry was already done before the arrival.

Key Pointers for Competitive Exams

• The Past Perfect Tense is crucial for demonstrating a sequence of events in the past, especially when one action precedes another.
• Look for time conjunctions like 'when', 'before', 'after', 'by the time', 'as soon as', 'until' which often signal the need for Past Perfect or Simple Past in complex sentences.
• Example: "By the time we reached the station, the train had already left." (Leaving happened before reaching).
• Example: "She had studied English before she moved to London." (Studying happened before moving).
• Mastering the use of Past Perfect helps in identifying and correcting grammatical errors in sentence correction and fill-in-the-blanks questions frequently asked in competitive examinations.