He died before his wife came from work.
2023
He died before his wife came from work.
- A.
He had been dying before his wife came from work.
- B.
He have died before his wife came from work.
- C.
He had died before his wife came from work.
- D.
He was died before his wife came from work.
Attempted by 60 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Correct sentence: He had died before his wife came from work.
Explanation: Use the past perfect to show that one past action was completed before another past action.
The death (had died) is the earlier action; the wife's arriving (came) is the later past action.
Structure to remember: past perfect = had + past participle (had died); the later action uses simple past (came).
Why the other forms are wrong or less appropriate:
“He had been dying …” (past perfect continuous) implies an ongoing process before the wife arrived; because 'die' is normally instantaneous, the continuous form changes the meaning and is not natural here.
“He have died …” is ungrammatical in this past context; use 'had died' for an action completed before another past event.
“He was died …” is ungrammatical because 'die' does not take a passive form; use the active past perfect instead.