Question:
The researchers ________ the data for three years before publishing their findings.
The researchers ________ the data for three years before publishing their findings.
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In sentences with two past actions, look for time-related keywords like "before," "after," "by the time," or "when." These words often signal that one action was completed before the other, requiring the use of the past perfect tense (had + verb) for the earlier action.
Updated On: Oct 6, 2025
- Analyze
- have analyzed
- had analyzed
- analyzes
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question tests your knowledge of verb tenses, specifically the past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. The structure is had + past participle.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The sentence describes two actions that occurred in the past:
1. The researchers analyzing the data.
2. The researchers publishing their findings.
The word "before" indicates the sequence of these actions. The analysis of the data happened and was completed before the publishing of the findings. To show that one past action preceded another, we use the past perfect tense for the earlier action.
Action 1 (earlier): Analyzing the data. This should be in the past perfect tense: had analyzed.
Action 2 (later): Publishing their findings. This is in the simple past tense (implied by the context).
Let's examine the other options:
(A) Analyze: This is the present tense base form, which is grammatically incorrect.
(B) have analyzed: This is the present perfect tense, used for actions that started in the past and continue to the present or have relevance to the present. It doesn't fit the context of two completed past actions.
(D) analyzes: This is the third-person singular present tense, which is incorrect for the plural subject "researchers" and the past-tense context.
Therefore, "had analyzed" is the correct choice to indicate the action was finished before the publishing.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct sentence is: "The researchers had analyzed the data for three years before publishing their findings." This correctly places the action of analyzing before the action of publishing.
This question tests your knowledge of verb tenses, specifically the past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. The structure is had + past participle.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The sentence describes two actions that occurred in the past:
1. The researchers analyzing the data.
2. The researchers publishing their findings.
The word "before" indicates the sequence of these actions. The analysis of the data happened and was completed before the publishing of the findings. To show that one past action preceded another, we use the past perfect tense for the earlier action.
Action 1 (earlier): Analyzing the data. This should be in the past perfect tense: had analyzed.
Action 2 (later): Publishing their findings. This is in the simple past tense (implied by the context).
Let's examine the other options:
(A) Analyze: This is the present tense base form, which is grammatically incorrect.
(B) have analyzed: This is the present perfect tense, used for actions that started in the past and continue to the present or have relevance to the present. It doesn't fit the context of two completed past actions.
(D) analyzes: This is the third-person singular present tense, which is incorrect for the plural subject "researchers" and the past-tense context.
Therefore, "had analyzed" is the correct choice to indicate the action was finished before the publishing.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct sentence is: "The researchers had analyzed the data for three years before publishing their findings." This correctly places the action of analyzing before the action of publishing.
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