SAT WRITING HELP

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

Because the flood has made the bridge (inaccessible to) automobiles and pedestrians (alike), (we had rented) a small boat (to reach) the island.

The answer is (we had rented) should be changed to we rented. However, the beginning of the first part of the sentence is present perfect with “has made” so that does not make sense why the present perfect. Anyone willing to explain?

2

You need to have a simple past action in the sentence if you want to have a superpast. The present perfect does not fit the bill. But even if it said “the flood made the bridge inaccessible,” you couldn’t use superpast because the boat rental can only logically have happened after the flood created the inaccessible conditions.