Question

The given statement has some error. From the given options, which is the correct way of writing the given sentence?

He retired to bed before we reached there.

• A. He will have retired to bed before we reached there.
• B. He has retired to bed before we reached there.
• C. He had retired to bed before we reached there.
• D. He is retiring to bed before we reached there.

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

The given sentence has two parts : 'retiring to bed' and 'we reached there'.

When two events occur in the past and we need to show one event occurred before the other, we use past perfect tense for the event that occurred first and simple past tense for the event that occurred second.

So, the correct verb form for 'retired to bed' is ' had retired to bed' and 'we reached there' is correct in the sentence given.

So, the correct answer is D) He had retired to bed before we reached there.