Choose the correct question tag to complete the sentence:
The train had left before we reached the platform, ________?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → hadn’t it
Question tag after “had” + past participle (V3):
A question tag repeats the helping verb of the sentence (words like do, does, did, is, has, had, can, will). Here the verb is “had left”, so the helping verb is “had”. The sentence is positive, so the tag is negative. “The train” becomes “it”. So the tag is “hadn’t it”.
Complete sentence: The train had left before we reached the platform, hadn’t it?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: didn’t it — Incorrect. “Didn’t” goes with a simple past verb that has no helping verb. Example: The bus left on time, didn’t it?
Option 2: wasn’t it — Incorrect. “Wasn’t” goes with a sentence that has “was”. Example: The road was closed, wasn’t it?
Option 4: had it — Incorrect. This is a positive tag. It goes with a negative sentence. Example: The shop hadn’t opened yet, had it?