SAT OwlQuestion bank / Form, Structure, and Sense
By the time Spanish forces arrived in the Andes in 1532, the Inca ______ a road network that stretched roughly 40,000 kilometers, linking cities, farms, and storehouses across their vast empire.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
build
had built
will have built
are building
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
"By the time Spanish forces arrived in 1532" sets a point in the past, and the road building was finished before that point. The past perfect "had built" shows an action completed before another past event.
Choice C uses "will have built," which describes a future completion, but these events happened centuries ago.
Got it wrong? On SAT Owl, Owl looks at the answer you chose and explains the exact mistake, then gives you similar questions until it sticks. Get your predicted SAT score free.