Question

Transform sentence with 'as soon as' to sentence with 'no sooner than'.
As soon as Meredith read his letter, she started crying.

• A. No sooner had Meredith read his letter then she started crying.
• B. No sooner had Meredith read his letter than she started crying.
• C. No sooner have Meredith read his letter than she started crying.
• D. No sooner does Meredith read his letter than she started crying.

Answer 1

The correct option is B No sooner had Meredith read his letter than she started crying.

When an affirmative sentence beginning with 'as soon as' is transformed to the negative form that begins with 'no sooner had', the structure also changes. The structure of the given sentence is: As soon as + subject (Meredith) + verb (past 'read') + object (his letter) she (pronoun) + verb (past 'started') + gerund (crying). This when changed to the negative sentence is of the structure: No sooner had + subject + verb (past participle) + than + pronoun + verb (past) + gerund. Option B follows this structure and does not change the meaning of the original sentence, hence B is correct. Option A is incorrect because 'then' is written instead of 'than' in the option. Option C is incorrect because 'have' is in the present tense whereas the sentence is in the past tense. Option D is incorrect because 'does' is in the present tense, whereas the sentence is in the past tense.