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Question

Improve the sentence by selecting the appropriate tense of the underlined word.

At this time yesterday, we had flew over the mountains.

This question was previously asked in
SSC JHT Paper 1 2025 Question Paper (12-Aug-2025)
The correct answer is
were flying

Sentence Improvement: Correcting Verb Tenses

The goal is to choose the correct verb tense to make the sentence grammatically sound and convey the intended meaning. The sentence we need to improve is: "At this time yesterday, we had flew over the mountains."

Understanding Time References in Sentences

The phrase "At this time yesterday" points to a specific moment in the past. When we want to describe an action that was happening continuously at a particular time in the past, the Past Continuous tense is the most appropriate choice.

Analyzing the Verb Tense Options

Let's look at the options provided for the underlined part "had flew":

  • $have flown$ (Present Perfect): This tense is used for actions completed in the past that have relevance to the present, or actions that started in the past and continue to the present. It doesn't fit a specific past time reference like "at this time yesterday".
  • $will be flying$ (Future Continuous): This tense describes an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. It is not suitable for a past time reference.
  • $are flying$ (Present Continuous): This tense describes an action happening right now. It is incorrect for a past time reference.
  • $were flying$ (Past Continuous): This tense describes an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past. This fits the time reference "At this time yesterday". The structure is subject + was/were + verb-ing. Since the subject is "we" (plural), "were" is the correct auxiliary verb.

Correcting the Sentence

The original sentence fragment "had flew" is grammatically incorrect. The past participle of 'fly' is 'flown'. Even if it were "had flown" (Past Perfect), it implies an action completed before another past action, which isn't the context here. The phrase "At this time yesterday" requires the Past Continuous tense to show an ongoing action.

Therefore, replacing "had flew" with the Past Continuous tense "were flying" corrects the sentence.

The improved sentence reads: "At this time yesterday, we were flying over the mountains."

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