The president's speech … yesterday at 8.00 p.m.

Analyze the question The sentence is "The president's speech ...... yesterday at 8.00 p.m." We need the verb form that fits the time expression and is also correctly formed.

Concept

1. Time marker: "yesterday at 8.00 p.m." refers to a definite time in the past. This calls for the simple past tense. Present tense (A, B) and present perfect (C, D) do not go with "yesterday".
2. Passive voice: The speech did not broadcast itself. It was broadcast by someone, so we need the passive: was/were + past participle.
3. Irregular verb: "Broadcast" has the same form in all three parts: broadcast – broadcast – broadcast. "Broadcasted" is generally considered non-standard in formal exam English.

Step by step

• A. is broadcast: present tense, which clashes with "yesterday". ✗
• B. is being broadcast: present continuous, which clashes with "yesterday". ✗
• C. has been broadcast: present perfect, which cannot be used with a definite past time like "yesterday". ✗
• D. has been broadcasted: present perfect and also a wrong form. ✗
• E. was broadcast: simple past passive, which fits "yesterday at 8.00 p.m." ✓

Answer The sentence becomes: The president's speech was broadcast yesterday at 8.00 p.m.

Exam tip When you see a definite past time marker such as yesterday, last week, in 1999, ago, avoid the present perfect. Also remember that verbs like broadcast, cut, put, set, hit do not change form in the past tense or past participle.