Question

Fill in the blank with the correct past perfect form of the verb:
By the end of the 19th century, a tea culture _______ in Ireland.

• A. Was developing
• B. Will develop
• C. Had developed
• D. None of these

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Had developed

The past perfect tense describes an action completed before a certain moment in the past. It is formed by using 'had' (the past tense form of 'to have') + the past participle form of the main verb.

The main verb in the given sentence is 'develop', whose past participle form is 'developed'. Hence the correct past perfect form of the verb is 'had developed'. Hence option C is correct.

Option A is incorrect as 'was developing' is in the past continuous tense.

Option B is incorrect as ' will develop' is in the simple future tense.

Option D is incorrect as option C is the correct answer.