How I wish she ______ the books before Tunde arrived.

Analyze the question The sentence is "How I wish she __ the books before Tunde arrived." It tests the correct verb form after "wish" when talking about a past event.

Explain the concept When we use wish to express regret about something in the past, we use the past perfect tense (had + past participle). It shows that we want a past situation to have been different.

• Wish about the present: I wish she knew. (past simple)
• Wish about the past: I wish she had known. (past perfect)

The clause "before Tunde arrived" also supports this. Two past events are being compared, and the wished-for action (seeing the books) should have happened earlier than Tunde's arrival (arrived, past simple). The earlier of two past actions takes the past perfect.

Solution

1. "Wish" + a past event means we need the past perfect.
2. The past perfect of "see" is had seen.
3. Check the other options: • A. sees: present tense, which does not fit a past event. • C. has seen: present perfect, which does not fit "before Tunde arrived". • D. saw: simple past, which would be used for a present wish ("I wish she saw..."), not a regret about the past.

Complete sentence: "How I wish she had seen the books before Tunde arrived."

Exam tip Remember the pattern for wishes:

• Present wish → past simple (I wish I were rich)
• Past regret → past perfect (I wish I had studied)

If you see a past-time clue like "before Tunde arrived", go for had + past participle.