Question

He asked the goldsmith to make a ring like the one he _____ (inherit) from this father.

• A. inherited
• B. has inherited
• C. had inherited
• D. was inherited

Answer 1

Answer:

C. had inherited

Inherited: This is the simple past tense. While it indicates a completed action, it does not clearly show the sequence of events as well as the past perfect tense does in this context. Has inherited: This is the present perfect tense. It indicates an action that occurred at an unspecified time before now, but it is not appropriate here because the action of inheriting happened before he asked the goldsmith. Had inherited: This is the past perfect tense, which is used to show that one past action (inheriting the ring) happened before another past action (asking the goldsmith). It correctly indicates the sequence of events. Was inherited: This is the past passive form and is not grammatically correct in this context. It would mean that the ring was inherited by someone else.