In the sentence 'When I met Liza yesterday, it was the first time I _____ her since Christmas', which option correctly fills the blank with the past perfect form?

• A. Saw
• B. Had seen
• C. Have seen
• D. Have been seen

Answer: (B)

Past perfect shows an action completed before another past event. In this sentence, meeting Liza happened yesterday, which is the later past event, while Christmas marks the starting point of the period up to that moment. The seeing of Liza, therefore, occurred before yesterday, so the verb form must be past perfect: had seen.

Using saw would place the seeing at the time of the meeting but doesn’t indicate it happened earlier than yesterday. Have seen ties to the present moment, which doesn’t fit the past reference to yesterday. Have been seen is passive and doesn’t match the subject doing the action.