The soldier … his gun on the wall after the armed robber …

Analyze the question

The sentence tests two things: the correct past forms of the verb hang, and the correct tense sequence.

Explain the concept

Hang has two different past forms, depending on meaning:

• hang (an object): hung, hung. Example: "He hung the picture on the wall."
• hang (a person, as execution): hanged, hanged. Example: "The criminal was hanged."

Also, the first action, the soldier hanging his gun, is in the simple past. The second action, the robber being executed, happened before the gun was hung, so it needs the past perfect: had been hanged.

Solution, step by step

1. First blank: the gun is an object, so we use hung. This eliminates A (hang, wrong tense) and C (hanged, wrong form for an object).
2. Second blank: the armed robber is a person who was executed, so we use hanged. The action was completed before the soldier hung his gun, so the past perfect passive had been hanged fits.
3. Check D: "has been hunged" is not a valid English form, so it is out.
4. Check B: "The soldier hung his gun on the wall after the armed robber had been hanged." The tense sequence is correct and the verb forms are correct.

Answer: B

Tip: Remember the rule "pictures and guns are hung; people are hanged." For "after" sentences, the action that happened first goes in the past perfect (had + past participle), and the later action goes in the simple past.