Find the part of the sentence that contains an error:
He had never seen (1)/ such a masterpiece (2)/ until he (3)/ visits the gallery last spring. (4)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
Correct Answer
visits the gallery last spring
Explanation
To find the error, check the verb tenses to ensure tense consistency across the sentence:
Tense Conflict: The sentence begins in the past perfect tense ("He had never seen"), establishing a past timeframe. It also ends with the specific past time marker "last spring".
The Error: Part 4 uses the simple present tense verb "visits", which incorrectly breaks the established past timeline.
The Correction: The verb must be changed to the simple past tense "visited" to maintain grammatical correctness.
Corrected Sentence: He had never seen such a masterpiece until he visited the gallery last spring.
Key Points
Tense Sequence: When describing an action that happened after a past perfect event (had seen), or when using past time expressions like last spring, use the simple past tense.
Exam Shortcut: Spotting time indicators like last night, yesterday, or last spring means the accompanying verb must be in its past form (V2). The present tense "visits" is an immediate red flag.