Select the correct word from the given options to complete the sentence:-
My uncle left for Australia___I was six years old.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → when
Conjunctions of time:
- When links an event to a point of time: the action happened at that time.
- While and as link two actions going on over the same period; since marks a starting point that continues up to now.
- This sentence: the uncle left once, at the time the speaker was six years old, so when fits.
Example: I met her when I was in college.
Complete sentence: My uncle left for Australia when I was six years old.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: while — Incorrect. While joins two actions that go on together; leaving for Australia is a single event, not a continuing action.
Example: She sang while she cooked.
Option 3: since — Incorrect. Since marks a starting point that continues to the present and needs a perfect tense in the main clause ("has lived ... since"); "left" is a simple past event.
Example: I have lived here since 2010.
Option 4: as — Incorrect. As joins two actions happening at the same moment, or gives a reason; it does not tie an event to a stage of life such as an age.
Example: As I walked home, it began to rain.
Contrast: when = at a point of time; while and as = during the same time; since = from a point of time up to now.