Choose the correct phrase from the given options to complete the given sentence:-

By the time we reached the theatre, the movie ______.

had started

The correct answer is Option (2) → had started

Correct sentence: By the time we reached the theatre, the movie had started.

This sentence refers to two past events:

1. Reaching the theatre

2. Movie starting

Since the movie started before they reached the theatre, we use the past perfect tense ("had started") to indicate the earlier of the two past actions.

• will have started: This is future perfect tense, indicating an action that will be completed by a certain time in the future. This doesn't fit the past context.

• has started: This is present perfect tense, indicating an action that started in the past and continues to the present, or a past action with relevance to the present. It doesn't correctly convey that the movie's start was prior to a specific past event (reaching the theatre).

• is starting: This is present continuous tense, indicating an action happening now or in the near future. This doesn't fit the past context.