Marcia ______ by the time we got there.a)leftb)leavesc)have leftd)had ...
To determine the correct verb form to fill in the blank, we need to consider the context and the tense used in the sentence.
Given that the sentence is in the past tense, we need to use the past perfect tense to indicate an action that happened before another past action.
The correct answer is
had left because it correctly uses the past perfect tense.
Explanation:
- The sentence is in the past tense, indicated by the phrase "by the time we got there."
- The action of Marcia leaving occurred before the time we arrived.
- The past perfect tense, "had left," is used to indicate an action that happened before another past action.
- The other options, "left," "leaves," and "have left," do not correctly convey the sequence of events in the past.
To summarize:
- The correct verb form to fill in the blank is
had left.
- This is because the sentence is in the past tense, and the past perfect tense is used to indicate an action that happened before another past action.