Past Tense Ultimate Quiz: Exam!
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I saw Ali at school this morning. He ____ after the teacher to ask a question.
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Ran
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Was running
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Had run
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Had been running
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This 'Past Tense Ultimate Exam' assesses understanding of past tense forms in English. It tests various past constructions through contextual usage, enhancing grammatical accuracy and fluency in English.
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- 2.
Tom was surprised to hear that he _____ the tests.
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Passed
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Was passing
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Had passed
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Had been passing
Correct Answer
A. Had passedExplanation
The correct answer is "had passed." The use of "had" indicates that the action of passing the tests occurred before the moment Tom was surprised. This suggests that Tom had already successfully completed the tests in the past.Rate this question:
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- 3.
Emel _____ the box and read the note in it.
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Opened
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Was opening
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Had opened
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Had been opening
Correct Answer
A. OpenedExplanation
The correct answer is "opened". This is because the sentence is in the past tense, and "opened" is the simple past tense form of the verb "open". It indicates that Emel performed the action of opening the box and reading the note in it at a specific point in the past.Rate this question:
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- 4.
My father _____ for this company for 25 years before he retired.
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Worked
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Was working
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Had worked
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Had been working
Correct Answer
A. Had been workingExplanation
The correct answer is "had been working" because it indicates that the action of working for the company started in the past and continued up until a specific point in the past (retirement). The past perfect continuous tense is used to emphasize the duration of an action that happened before another past action or time. In this case, the action of working for the company (25 years) happened before the retirement.Rate this question:
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- 5.
What _____ when the accident happened?
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Did you do
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Were you doing
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Had you done
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Had you been doing
Correct Answer
A. Were you doingExplanation
The question is asking about the action that was happening at the time of the accident. The phrase "were you doing" is in the past continuous tense, which is used to describe an ongoing action in the past. Therefore, the correct answer implies that the person was engaged in an activity when the accident occurred.Rate this question:
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- 6.
Tom and Marry _____ married in London last week.
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Got
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Were getting
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Had got
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Had been getting
Correct Answer
A. GotExplanation
The correct answer is "got". This is because the sentence is in the past tense and "got" is the past tense of "get". It indicates that Tom and Marry got married in London last week.Rate this question:
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- 7.
The last time we _____ Bob was 3 days ago.
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Saw
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Was seeing
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Had seen
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Had been seeing
Correct Answer
A. SawExplanation
The correct answer is "saw" because the sentence is in the past simple tense and refers to a specific time in the past when the speaker last saw Bob.Rate this question:
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- 8.
They _____ problems before they finally decided to divorce.
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Had
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Were having
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Had had
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Had been having
Correct Answer
A. Had hadExplanation
The sentence is describing a past event where the couple experienced problems before deciding to divorce. The phrase "had had" is the correct answer because it indicates a past perfect tense, which is used to show an action that occurred before another past action. In this case, the problems occurred before the decision to divorce.Rate this question:
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- 9.
At the airport I was so nervous because I _____ before.
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Didn't fly
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Wasn't flying
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Hadn't flown
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Hadn't been flying
Correct Answer
A. Hadn't flownExplanation
The correct answer is "hadn't flown." This answer is correct because it indicates that the speaker had not flown before the time mentioned in the sentence. The past perfect tense "hadn't flown" is used to express an action that occurred before another past action or time. In this case, the speaker's nervousness at the airport is related to their lack of experience in flying before that moment.Rate this question:
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- 10.
While Kate _____ the birthday party for Alison, John bought the present.
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Organized
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Was organizing
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Had organized
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Had been organizing
Correct Answer
A. Was organizingExplanation
The correct answer is "was organizing" because it indicates that Kate was in the process of planning or arranging the birthday party for Alison at the same time that John bought the present. This suggests that the actions were happening simultaneously in the past.Rate this question:
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- 11.
I _____ for 5 hours, so I was bored.
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Waited
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Was waiting
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Had waited
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Had been waiting
Correct Answer
A. Had been waitingExplanation
The sentence indicates that the speaker was bored because they had been waiting for 5 hours. The use of "had been waiting" implies that the waiting started in the past and continued up until a certain point in time, which in this case is 5 hours. This suggests that the waiting was a prolonged action that caused the speaker to become bored.Rate this question:
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- 12.
If he _____ hard, he could pass all his exams.
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Studied
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Was studying
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Had studied
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Had been studying
Correct Answer
A. StudiedExplanation
The correct answer is "studied". This is because the sentence is in the present tense and the use of "could" indicates a hypothetical situation. Therefore, the correct verb form to use is the simple past tense "studied" to convey the idea that if he put in the effort and studied hard, he would be able to pass all his exams.Rate this question:
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- 13.
He felt embarrassed the moment he _____ us.
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Saw
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Was seeing
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Had seen
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Had been seeing
Correct Answer
A. SawExplanation
The correct answer is "saw". The past simple tense "saw" is used to describe a completed action in the past. In this sentence, the moment of feeling embarrassed coincides with the moment of seeing "us". Therefore, the simple past tense is the most appropriate choice to indicate the sequence of events.Rate this question:
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- 14.
She _____ out when you called, so you couldn't talk with her.
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Just went
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Was just going
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Had just gone
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Had just been going
Correct Answer
A. Had just goneExplanation
The correct answer is "had just gone." This is because the sentence is referring to an action that happened before another past event. The past perfect tense "had just gone" indicates that the person had already left before the phone call took place.Rate this question:
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- 15.
I _____ snow until I came to Eskisehir.
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Never saw
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Was never seeing
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Had never seen
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Had never been seeing
Correct Answer
A. Had never seenExplanation
The correct answer is "had never seen." This is because the sentence is in the past perfect tense, indicating an action that occurred before another past action. The phrase "had never seen" indicates that the speaker had not seen snow before coming to Eskisehir.Rate this question:
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- 16.
She _____ to cook as soon as she got home.
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Began
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Was beginning
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Had begun
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Had been beginning
Correct Answer
A. BeganExplanation
The correct answer is "began" because it indicates the start of an action in the past. It implies that she started cooking immediately after arriving home.Rate this question:
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- 17.
If he _____ the contract, he could have saved the company, but he didn't.
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Signed
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Was signing
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Had signed
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Had been signing
Correct Answer
A. Had signedExplanation
The correct answer is "had signed". The sentence is in the past perfect tense, indicating an action that occurred before another past action. "Had signed" is the past perfect form of the verb "to sign", which fits the context of the sentence. It suggests that if he had signed the contract in the past, it would have resulted in saving the company, but he did not sign it.Rate this question:
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- 18.
They _____ back home at 6 o'clock yesterday evening, so they didn't see anything about the burglary.
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Drove
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Were driving
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Had driven
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Had been driving
Correct Answer
A. Were drivingExplanation
The correct answer is "were driving." This is because the sentence is referring to a specific point in the past (6 o'clock yesterday evening) when they were in the process of driving back home. The past continuous tense "were driving" is used to describe an ongoing action in the past, which fits the context of the sentence.Rate this question:
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- 19.
The little boy _____ so tired that he slept as soon as he got home.
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Did
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Was
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Had
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Had been
Correct Answer
A. WasExplanation
The correct answer is "was" because it is the past tense form of the verb "to be" and is used to describe a state or condition in the past. In this sentence, the little boy was tired and as a result, he slept as soon as he got home.Rate this question:
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- 20.
After they _____ the house, they brought all the furniture in.
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Painted
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Was painting
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Had painted
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Had been painting
Correct Answer
A. Had paintedExplanation
The correct answer is "had painted". This is because the sentence is in the past perfect tense, indicating that the action of painting the house occurred before the action of bringing in the furniture. Using "had painted" correctly shows the sequence of events in the past.Rate this question:
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- 21.
Most of the shops had already been closed by the time we _____ to the mall.
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Got
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Was getting
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Had got
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Had been getting
Correct Answer
A. GotExplanation
The correct answer is "got" because it is the simple past tense of the verb "get." In the given sentence, the action of going to the mall happened in the past, and "got" is the appropriate verb form to indicate this. The other options, such as "was getting," "had got," and "had been getting," are not grammatically correct in this context.Rate this question:
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- 22.
Alison _____ her bicycle when she noticed the wounded dog under a tree.
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Rode
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Was riding
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Had ridden
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Had been ridden
Correct Answer
A. Was ridingExplanation
The correct answer is "was riding" because it indicates that Alison was in the process of riding her bicycle when she noticed the wounded dog. This suggests that she was actively engaged in the activity of riding at the moment of observation.Rate this question:
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- 23.
They _____ picnic in the garden when it started to rain.
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Had
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Were having
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Had had
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Had been having
Correct Answer
A. Were havingExplanation
The correct answer is "were having". This is because the sentence is in the past continuous tense, indicating an ongoing action in the past. "Were having" is the correct form of the verb "to have" in the past continuous tense.Rate this question:
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- 24.
I _____ all the house work when my parents arrived.
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Already finished
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Was already finishing
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Had already finished
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Had already been finishing
Correct Answer
A. Had already finishedExplanation
The correct answer is "had already finished". The sentence is in the past tense and requires a past perfect tense to indicate that the action of finishing the housework occurred before the arrival of the parents. "Had already finished" is the correct past perfect tense form of the verb "finish" in this context.Rate this question:
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- 25.
Jack _____ for over six hours when he finally pulled over to have dinner.
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Drove
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Was driving
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Had driven
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Had been driving
Correct Answer
A. Had been drivingExplanation
The correct answer is "had been driving" because the sentence indicates that Jack had been driving for over six hours before he stopped to have dinner. This implies that the action of driving had been ongoing in the past leading up to the moment of stopping for dinner.Rate this question:
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- 26.
Emel Akay _____ her first story book in 2019.
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Wrote
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Was writing
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Had written
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Had been writing
Correct Answer
A. WroteExplanation
The correct answer is "wrote" because the sentence is in the simple past tense and "wrote" is the past tense form of the verb "write". It indicates that Emel Akay completed the action of writing her first story book in 2019.Rate this question:
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- 27.
George was so excited that his heart _____ very fast.
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Beat
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Was beating
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Had beaten
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Had been beating
Correct Answer
A. Was beatingExplanation
The correct answer is "was beating." In this sentence, the past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past. The verb "was beating" indicates that George's heart was continuously and actively beating in a fast manner due to his excitement.Rate this question:
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- 28.
The robbers _____ the bank before the police arrived.
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Left
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Were leaving
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Had left
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Had been leaving
Correct Answer
A. Had leftExplanation
The correct answer is "had left" because it indicates that the action of leaving the bank occurred before the arrival of the police. The past perfect tense "had left" is used to show that the robbers had already completed the action of leaving the bank at a specific point in the past.Rate this question:
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- 29.
They _____ a great time in Turkey on their holiday last summer.
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Had
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Was having
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Had had
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Had been having
Correct Answer
A. HadExplanation
The correct answer is "had". This is because the sentence is in the past tense and "had" is the past simple form of the verb "have". It indicates that the people experienced a great time in Turkey during their holiday last summer.Rate this question:
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- 30.
When I woke up yesterday, the sun _____. It was a beautiful day.
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Shone
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Was shining
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Had shone
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Had been shining
Correct Answer
A. Was shiningExplanation
The correct answer is "was shining" because the sentence is describing a specific moment in the past when the speaker woke up. The use of the past continuous tense "was shining" indicates that the sun was already in the process of shining at that moment.Rate this question:
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Quiz Review Timeline (Updated): Mar 21, 2023 +
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Current Version
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Mar 21, 2023Quiz Edited by
ProProfs Editorial Team -
May 07, 2020Quiz Created by
Emel Akay
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