Read the sentence and identify the underlined part that contains an error. If…
2023
Read the sentence and identify the underlined part that contains an error. If more than one part contains an error, select ‘More than one of the above’; if no part contains an error, select ‘None of the above’. By the time we reached there, she left.
Answer: C. she left. — ConceptWhen two completed actions occurred at different times in the past, the earlier action is normally expressed in the past perfect (had + past…
- A.
By the time
- B.
we reached there
- C.
she left.
- D.
More than one of the above
- E.
None of the above
Attempted by 6 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
When two completed actions occurred at different times in the past, the earlier action is normally expressed in the past perfect (had + past participle), while the later reference action remains in the simple past. The phrase ‘by the time’ commonly establishes this earlier–later relationship.
Application
Identify the later reference event: ‘we reached there.’ Its simple-past verb ‘reached’ establishes the later point in the past.
Identify the event already completed before that point: her leaving.
Express the earlier event with past perfect: ‘she had left.’
Cross-check and contrast
‘By the time’ appropriately introduces the temporal boundary.
‘we reached there’ appropriately supplies the later simple-past event.
‘she left’ needs the past-perfect form because it denotes the earlier completed event.
Only one underlined part needs a tense change, so the multiple-error choice does not describe the sentence.
Because one part needs revision, the no-error choice does not describe the sentence.
Result
The corrected sentence is: ‘By the time we reached there, she had left.’ The erroneous part is ‘she left.’