Understanding Verb Tense in Past Sentences

The question asks us to select the most appropriate option to replace the underlined segment "I returning home late at night" in the sentence "Last Sunday I returning home late at night." We need to identify the correct verb form to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past, indicated by "Last Sunday".

Analyzing the Original Sentence

The original sentence is: "Last Sunday I returning home late at night."

The phrase "I returning" is grammatically incorrect. When describing an action that was completed at a specific point or during a period in the past, we typically use the simple past tense. "Returning" is a present participle (or gerund) and needs an auxiliary verb (like 'was', 'were', 'am', 'is', 'are') to form a proper verb tense, but none of these work correctly with "Last Sunday" and "returning" on its own.

Evaluating the Substitution Options

Let's examine each provided option:

1. No substitution required

   As analyzed above, the original sentence contains a grammatical error ("I returning"). Therefore, substitution is required to make the sentence grammatically correct.

2. I returned home

   Substituting "I returning home" with "I returned home" gives the sentence: "Last Sunday I returned home late at night."

   The verb "returned" is the simple past tense of "return". The simple past tense is used to describe actions that happened and were completed at a specific point in the past. "Last Sunday" is a specific point in the past. This option correctly uses the simple past tense to describe the action of returning home that was completed on Last Sunday.

3. I am returning home

   Substituting with "I am returning home" gives: "Last Sunday I am returning home late at night."

   "Am returning" is the present continuous tense, used for actions happening now or in the near future. This tense is not appropriate for an action that happened "Last Sunday", which is a past time reference.

4. I had been returning home

   Substituting with "I had been returning home" gives: "Last Sunday I had been returning home late at night."

   "Had been returning" is the past perfect continuous tense. This tense is used to describe an action that started in the past, continued for some duration, and was ongoing until another point or event in the past (e.g., "I had been returning home for an hour when it started raining"). While grammatically correct in certain contexts, it implies a continuous action leading up to a past point, not a single completed event at a specific past time like "late at night Last Sunday". The simple past is more direct and appropriate here.

Conclusion

Based on the analysis, the simple past tense "returned" is the correct verb form needed to describe a completed action that happened on "Last Sunday". Option 2 provides the correct substitution.

Revision Table: Verb Tenses for Past Actions

Additional Information: Identifying Past Time References

Phrases like "Last Sunday", "yesterday", "last week", "in 2010", "an hour ago", or specific past dates are strong indicators that the simple past tense is likely required for completed actions.

It's crucial to match the verb tense with the time reference provided in the sentence to ensure grammatical accuracy and clear communication.