Question

We had hardly sat down for supper ............................. the bell rang.

• A. and
• B. sooner
• C. when
• D. until

Answer 1

Answer:

C. when

Correct sentence:
👉 We had hardly sat down for supper when the bell rang.

Explanation:

• The structure hardly … when is a fixed grammatical pattern in English.

• It is used to show that one action happened immediately after another.

📌 Rule to remember:

Hardly / Scarcely / Barely + past perfect → when + simple past

Examples:

• Hardly had I reached home when it started raining.

• Scarcely had she spoken when the bell rang.