Question

Fill in the blank with the appropriate past perfect tense:
When I arrived at the cinema, the film _______. (start)

• A. was starting
• B. had started
• C. had been starting
• D. was going to start

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

had started

Option B is correct. It follows the construction for past perfect tense, that is, had + past participle.

Option A is incorrect as it is in past progressive (was/were + present participle) and not past perfect.

Option C is incorrect as it is in past perfect progressive. It follows the construction: had + been + present participle (base verb + -ing).

Option D is incorrect as the tense is what is called the 'future in the past'. It is used when we talk about the future from a time in the past.