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Question

Difficulty: MediumVerbs, Tenses, and Aspect

Complete the sentence below by supplying the correct auxiliary verb in the blank.

Answer:Scarcely 【had】 the lead researcher submitted the final manuscript when the journal editor requested additional control experiments.

Answer

had
The auxiliary verb 'had' correctly completes the past perfect aspect in an inverted sentence structure introduced by 'Scarcely'. This pattern ('Scarcely had + subject + past participle ... when + simple past') indicates an action completed just prior to another past event.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence structure initiating with the limiting negative adverb 'Scarcely'.
Identify that initial negative adverbials require subject-auxiliary inversion.
In formal English grammar, placing 'Scarcely' at the sentence start forces the auxiliary verb to precede the subject.
2
Determine the correct tense aspect required by the correlated temporal clause starting with 'when'.
Select the past perfect auxiliary 'had' to precede the past participle 'submitted'.
The paired construction 'Scarcely had... when...' expresses that one event in the past occurred immediately before another past event ('requested').

Key Concept

Inversion and sequence of tenses with negative limiting adverbials
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Verbs, Tenses, and Aspect

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