Choose the correct form of the verb: They __ playing football when it started to rain. A) was B) is C) were D) been Choose the correct form of the verb: By the time I arrived, they __ already eaten dinner. A) have B) had C) was D) will have

The correct answers are:1. **C) were** The sentence describes an action (playing football) that was in progress when another action (rain starting) interrupted it. This requires the past continuous tense, which uses "were" with the plural subject "they."2. **B) had** This sentence uses the past perfect tense ("had eaten"). The past perfect shows an action completed *before* another action in the past (arriving). The arrival is the reference point in the past.