SAT OwlQuestion bank / Form, Structure, and Sense
In December 1938, the crew of a fishing boat off the coast of South Africa ______ up a large, steel-blue fish with unusual limb-like fins. Scientists identified it as a coelacanth, a kind of fish thought to have died out millions of years earlier.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
hauls
will haul
hauled
has hauled
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
The event happened at a specific time in the past, December 1938, and the next sentence also uses the past tense ("identified"). The simple past "hauled" is correct.
Choice D describes a past action, but the present perfect "has hauled" doesn't work with a specific past date like December 1938.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. "Hauls" is present tense, but the event happened in 1938.
- B. "Will haul" is future tense, which can't describe an event from 1938.
- D. The present perfect doesn't fit an action tied to a specific past date like December 1938.
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