NIMCET 2026 — English PYQ

• Option 3 is the correct answer:

  "The curator replaced the exhibit after it had deteriorated."

Detailed Explanation

When we speak about two actions that happened in the past, we must use different tenses to show which action happened first.

• Action 1 (Happened First): The exhibit deteriorated. Because this happened before the other past action, we must use the Past Perfect Tense (had + third form of the verb).

  $$\text{Formula: }\text{Subject}+\text{had}+{\text{V}}_3$$

  $$\text{Example: }\text{it}+\text{had}+\text{deteriorated}$$

• Action 2 (Happened Second): The curator replaced it. Because this happened later, we use the Simple Past Tense (second form of the verb).

  $$\text{Formula: }\text{Subject}+{\text{V}}_2$$

  $$\text{Example: }\text{The curator}+\text{replaced}$$