Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate option:
By the time the ambulance ______ our lane, the neighbours ______ Dadaji to the hospital in their car.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → reached, had already driven
“By the time” in the past:
- Its form is By the time + simple past, past perfect (had + past participle (V3)).
- The past perfect shows the action that was over before the other past action.
- Clue word: “By the time” and “already”.
- The neighbours drove Dadaji first.
- The ambulance came later.
- Complete sentence: By the time the ambulance reached our lane, the neighbours had already driven Dadaji to the hospital in their car.