Select the most appropriate pair of words to fill in the blanks in the following sentence:-

The researcher _____ her findings before the conference _____.

had submitted, started

The correct answer is Option (1) → had submitted, started

This sentence describes two actions that both occurred in the past, where one action was completed before the other began. This structure requires the Past Perfect tense.

1. First Action (Completed earlier): The act of submitting the findings. This is written in the Past Perfect tense: had submitted.

2. Second Action (Completed later): The start of the conference. This is written in the Simple Past tense: started.