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JAMB Use of English 1978 Question 51

Question 51

Tenses

Choose the option that most suitably fills the space: Before the operation the dentist found that his patient's teeth....

  1. A.have long decayed
  2. B.have long been decayed
  3. C.have long being decayed
  4. D.had long decayed
  5. E.had been decayed.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D (had long decayed)

Explanation

The finding is in the past ('found'), so the earlier state needs the past perfect: 'had long decayed'.