English Grammar Tense Exercise

Hi Aylin, let's solve this together. We're looking at a sentence completion question focused on verb tenses and the passive voice.

First, let's look at the subject of our sentence: Numerous empty pots. Pots do not bury themselves; they are buried by people. This means we need a passive structure for the first blank.

Now, let's identify the time markers. The first action happens between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. This is a completed period in the past.

Because we have a specific past time frame, we usually use the Simple Past or Past Perfect. However, notice that the second blank involves the twentieth century.

Let's look at the options for the first blank. Option A uses buried, which is active, so we can rule it out. Option D uses were burying, which is also active.

Now let's examine the sequence of events. The pots were buried first, then later excavated in the twentieth century.