MTEL Communication Literacy Skills : Writing Practice Test

Which tense describes an action mentioned earlier that occurred prior to a later action?

1. Present Perfect Tense

2. Past Perfect Tense

3. Future Perfect Tense

4. Present Tense

The correct answer is: Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect Tense is specifically used to indicate that an action was completed before another action took place in the past. It provides a clear chronological relationship between two past events, emphasizing that one action occurred prior to the other. For example, in the sentence "She had finished her homework before the movie started," the use of "had finished" illustrates that the homework completion happened first, establishing a timeline that helps the reader understand the sequence of events. The other tenses listed do not convey this same structure of indicating precedence of one past action over another: the Present Perfect Tense refers to actions that have relevance to the present, the Future Perfect Tense describes actions that will be completed before a specified future time, and the Present Tense denotes actions occurring currently. Thus, the Past Perfect Tense is the correct choice for describing an action that took place before a later action in the past.