Improve the sentence by selecting the appropriate tense of the underlined word.
They lives in this city for ten years before they moved to the countryside.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
had lived
Explanation
The sentence describes two distinct actions that occurred in the past: living in the city and moving to the countryside.
When two actions happened at different times in the past, we use the Past Perfect Tense for the earlier action and the Simple Past Tense for the later action.
Earlier Action: Living in the city for ten years → had lived (Past Perfect)
Later Action: Moving to the countryside → moved (Simple Past)
Therefore, 'had lived' is the correct choice to indicate that the ten-year stay was completed before the relocation took place.
Key Points
Grammar Rule: Past Perfect (had + V3) is used for an action completed before another action in the past.
Timeline Indicator: The word 'before' clarifies the chronological order of the two past events.