Which sentence correctly uses the simple past tense in both clauses, since the connector ‘before’ already makes the sequence of events clear?

Explanation

When a connector like ‘before’ or ‘after’ already clearly establishes which action happened first, the simple past tense can be used in both clauses without needing the past perfect tense for disambiguation, as in ‘She left before he arrived.’ While using the past perfect for the earlier action remains acceptable, it is not strictly necessary here, since ‘before’ alone makes the sequence unambiguous. Explore more English MCQs on mcqstutor to keep practicing.