The debating teams were very happy. They were declared joint champions.
(a) The debating teams were very happy as they have been declared joint champions.
(b) The debating teams are very happy as they are declared joint champions.
(c) The debating teams were very happy as they had been declared joint champions.
(d) The debating teams will be very happy as they will be declared joint champions.
Answer (1)
To address this question, we need to determine which sentence best uses correct tense and meaning for stating why the debating teams were happy.
Option (a): 'The debating teams were very happy as they have been declared joint champions.' - This option mixes past tense ('were very happy') with present perfect tense ('have been declared'), creating a tense inconsistency because both actions (being happy and being declared champions) belong to the past.
Option (b): 'The debating teams are very happy as they are declared joint champions.' - This option uses the present tense ('are very happy', 'are declared'), which is inconsistent with the original sentences because both happiness and the declaration are in the past.
Option (c): 'The debating teams were very happy as they had been declared joint champions.' - This option correctly uses the past perfect tense ('had been declared') to indicate that the declaration of joint champions happened before the teams were happy. Therefore, both actions appropriately reflect that they occurred in the past.
Option (d): 'The debating teams will be very happy as they will be declared joint champions.' - This option uses the future tense, which changes the meaning significantly by stating that neither the happiness nor the declaration has yet occurred.
Thus, the appropriate choice is Option (c) because it properly uses the past perfect tense, showing that the declaration happened before the teams expressed happiness.
