Which happened first — Sentence Correction Aptitude Question
Which happened first: Choose the correct sentence: Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Sentence Correction
- Section: Verbal Ability
- Difficulty: Medium
- Time target: 55 seconds
Question
Choose the correct sentence:
Options
- When I reached the station, the train already left.
- When I reached the station, the train had already left.
- When I had reached the station, the train already left.
- When I reach the station, the train had already left.
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: B. When I reached the station, the train had already left.
Worked solution
- Of two past actions, the earlier takes the past perfect (had left) and the later the simple past (reached).
- The train left first, so 'the train had already left' is correct.
Answer: When I reached the station, the train had already left.
The idea
Past perfect marks the earlier of two past events. Putting it on the wrong clause reverses the order of the story.
Shortcut. Keep the later action (reached) in the simple past and look for 'had already left' beside it. One option has 'had' on the wrong clause and another pairs 'had left' with the present 'reach'; only one has both parts right.
Common trap. "When I reached the station, the train already left." — two simple pasts sound like a natural story, but they blur the order; the train leaving came first, so it needs 'had left'.