Question

Complete the sentence with the correct form of the verb given in the bracket.

They _____ the work when the teacher entered the class. (finish)

• A. Would have finished
• B. Finished
• C. Haven't finished
• D. Had finished

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

The sentence has two events occurring: 'finishing homework' and 'teacher entering the class'. In such sentences where both the events occur in the past and one occurs before the other, we use the past perfect tense.
Option A) finished is one possible answer since it would indicate that the students had finished their homework at the same time as their teacher entered the class.

Option B) is incorrect because it indicates a possibility of the event occurring in the past whereas the sentence mentions a confirmed occurrence of the event.

Option C) haven't finished is incorrect because the tense is in present perfect while the rest of the sentence is in the simple past tense. So the tense is inconsistent.

So, the most appropriate answer is D) had finished.