Choose the correct option to complete the sentence:-
Yesterday he ____ to drop his uncle off at the railway station.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → went
Simple past with a finished past time:
- A time word such as yesterday, last week or in 2010 names a finished time in the past.
- A completed action at such a time takes the simple past.
- This sentence: "Yesterday" fixes the time, so the verb is "went".
- Complete sentence: Yesterday he went to drop his uncle off at the railway station.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: has gone — Incorrect. The present perfect links the past to now and is not used with a finished past time such as "yesterday".
Example: He has gone to the market; he will be back soon.
Option 3: is going — Incorrect. The present continuous describes an action happening now or planned for the future, not yesterday.
Example: She is going to school right now.
Option 4: had been going — Incorrect. The past perfect continuous shows an action that went on up to another past point. The sentence has no second past action to refer to.
Example: He had been going to the gym for a year before he hurt his knee.
Contrast: the simple past went goes with a finished past time such as "yesterday". The present perfect has gone links the past to now and is not used with "yesterday".