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LiveXPQuestionsEnglish1 - The police arrested him as he ................. the scene of the crime. had left was leaving w

1 - The police arrested him as he ................. the scene of the crime. had left was leaving w

SEsara elsayed
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Tammi
TammiCountry flag: us
TEFL Certified English Teacher, Vietnamese Tutor

Hi Sara. If you say "had left", the word "as" would then have a meaning similar to "because." So "The police arrested him as he 'had left' the scene of the crime" would mean that him leaving the crime scene is what made the police arrest him. The past continuous tense of "was leaving" would be correct if trying to show that both events happened at the same time in the past.

  • Hanlie Robbertse
    Hanlie RobbertseCountry flag: za
    Certified ESL , Business English and IELTS Teacher

    Was leaving. Use the present continuous tense to express an action that was interrupted by another one.

  • Sasha R.
    Sasha R.Country flag: rs
    I am a certified TEFL teacher with 4 years of teaching experience.

    When you say "The police arrested him as he was leaving the scene of the crime," it suggests that the arrest and the act of leaving the scene were happening simultaneously. This might not be the intended meaning because it would mean the arrest occurred while he was in the process of leaving, which might not be what you want to convey. On the other hand, "had left" is used to indicate that the leaving of the scene happened before the arrest. It clarifies that he had already left the scene, and then the police arrested him afterward. This sequence of events makes more sense in the context of a police arrest related to a past action.

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  • Mary
    MaryCountry flag: gb
    10+ years certified British tutor (CELTA), grammar trainer, speaking and pronunciation coach

    It can be good to ask for help with things, but if this is homework it's more useful for your learning to try to figure out the answer yourself.

  • Badr
    BadrCountry flag: ma
    Certified English Teacher, Academic Mentor, and IELTS Specialist 📚🚀

    The correct answer is the past continuous form: the police arrested him as he was leaving the crime scene. Why? Simply because we are describing an ongoing action (the act of leaving the crime scene), and this action was interrupted by another event (the police arresting the man). So the idea is, the arrest happened while the guy was in the middle of leaving the scene.

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