If they _ earlier, they wouldn't have missed the flight.
Correct answer: B. Had left
- A. Leave
- B. Had left
- C. Left
- D. Have left
Explanation
The correct answer is 'had left' because the sentence describes a hypothetical situation about the past, requiring the past perfect tense. The past perfect tense ('had left') is used to indicate that the action of leaving was completed before the subsequent action of missing the flight. Option A ('leave') is incorrect as it is the base form. Option C ('left') is incorrect because it uses the simple past tense, which does not convey the sequence of events. Option D ('have left') is incorrect as it uses the present perfect tense, which is not used for past hypothetical conditions.
Last updated
About Tenses
Tenses show when an action or state occurs and whether it is complete, continuing or repeated. The work covers present, past and future forms, including simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous constructions, as well as sequence of tenses and the difference between tense and aspect.
Practise Grammar
6,178 free Grammar MCQs from English, each with the correct answer and an explanation. Unlimited attempts, no account needed.
Exams that ask English questions like this
English is on 83 papers prepared for on TestUstad, and all of them draw the same bank, so this question is worth knowing for every one of them.