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Easy Question, SV agreement and tenses.
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imSKR
When Milton wrote his epic poem Paradise Lost, he set the work against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he first saw when he had visited Galileo 20 years earlier.

A. he set the work against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he first saw
B. he set the work against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he had first seen
C. the work was set in front of the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that was first seen
D. the work was set against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he first saw
E. he sets the work in front of the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he had first seen


The best way to mention in this sentence would be ‘he had first seen’. Got the top two sentences B & E. In E he sets the work is wrong.
Therefore B is the best answer choice.

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catinabox
Totally confused by this one. Why is past perfect required? Can anyone help?

Remember a thumb rule:

When 2 actions happen simultaneously ( visit Galelio , see stars) then they will be in the same tense.
We know had seen stars is Past perfect hence the PP for visit too.
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catinabox
Totally confused by this one. Why is past perfect required? Can anyone help?

Remember a thumb rule:

When 2 actions happen simultaneously ( visit Galelio , see stars) then they will be in the same tense.
We know had seen stars is Past perfect hence the PP for visit too.

Yes, this makes a lot of sense.

Does anyone have any links to similar questions? I don't think I've seen a lot of questions testing this concept.
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mSKR
When Milton wrote his epic poem Paradise Lost, he set the work against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he first saw when he had visited Galileo 20 years earlier.

A. he set the work against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he first saw
B. he set the work against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he had first seen
C. the work was set in front of the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that was first seen
D. the work was set against the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he first saw
E. he sets the work in front of the backdrop of interstellar space sparkling with "innumerable stars" that he had first seen


Options A, C, and D can be eliminated as they're missing a 'had' near the end of the sentence.
Option E can be eliminated as 'sets' does not stay parallel with 'wrote'.
Option B is correct.
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