Question

He ___5___ to collect small stones on his way back to the ashram from his daily walks.

• A. begins
• B. has begun
• C. began
• D. had begun

Answer 1

The correct option is C began

Here, 'began' in Simple Past Tense is correct because it indicates an action that has already been completed. Here, on his way back, he 'began' (an action that has already been completed) to collect....
'Begins' in present simple is incorrect because it is used to indicate a future event on a designated date as part of a plan or to express habits or general truth.
'Has begun' in present perfect is incorrect because it is used to indicate an action which started in the past and has continued up untill now.
'Had begun' in past perfect is incorrect because it is used to indicate a completed action of the past that happened before another event took place.