Question

Fill in the blank with appropriate word/ words.
Harris _____ thirteen pages when his laptop crashed.

• A. is typing
• B. typed
• C. has typed
• D. had already typed

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

The question asks us to fill in the blank with the appropriate word or words in the sentence: "Harris _____ thirteen pages when his laptop crashed."

Let's analyze each option to find the most suitable answer:

1. "is typing": This option suggests a present continuous action. It would imply that Harris is currently in the process of typing when the laptop crashed. However, the crash interrupts a recently completed action rather than an ongoing one, so this is not suitable.
2. "typed": This option is in the simple past tense, indicating an action completed in the past. But it does not indicate the relative timing of the typing to the crashing incident. Thus, it does not capture the sequence effectively.
3. "has typed": This present perfect tense indicates an action completed at some indefinite time in the past and is related to the present. However, this doesn't correctly imply that the action happened before the crashing incident.
4. "had already typed": This past perfect tense is used to show that the action of typing thirteen pages was completed before another past action (in this case, the laptop crashed). This is the correct choice because it accurately reflects the sequence of events.

Therefore, the most appropriate option is "had already typed," as it clearly shows the sequence of past actions: Harris finished typing before the laptop crash occurred.