Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word. When I ________ home my father wasn’t there. He had gone out. A. arrive B. had arrived C. arrived D. will arrive

The correct answer is: B. had arrived

The sentence is in the past tense, so we need a verb that is also in the past tense. The only option that is in the past tense is had arrived.

• Arrive is the simple present tense of the verb to arrive. It means to come to a place after a journey.
• Had arrived is the past perfect tense of the verb to arrive. It means to have come to a place before a particular time in the past.
• Arrived is the simple past tense of the verb to arrive. It means to come to a place at a particular time in the past.
• Will arrive is the future tense of the verb to arrive. It means to come to a place at a particular time in the future.

In this sentence, we know that the father was not at home when the speaker arrived, so we need a verb that indicates that the father had arrived at some point before the speaker arrived. The only option that does this is had arrived.