<p>Q) The investors wanted to know (did the company make) a profit in the last quarter of the previous year. </p>
<p>A) did the company make
B) has the company made
C) had the company made
D) if the company has made
E) whether the company had made</p>
<p>Answer is E</p>
<p>why ?</p>
<p>Let’s go through the answer choices:</p>
<p>A, B, and C: no transition between the two ideas.
You need an “if” or a “whether” to make the statement logical. That leaves D and E.</p>
<p>D: The investor…if the company [has made] a profit in the [last quarter] of the previous year.
While the connector here is valid, the action refers to an event that has ended in the past, which means that a past tense verb is necessary.</p>
<p>E: The investor…whether the company [had made] a profit in the [last quarter] of the previous year.
This sentence has both a past tense verb and a proper connector, “whether.”</p>
<p>Since the investors WANTED (past tense) to know, then your answer must include HAD (also past tense). Therefore, B and D are eliminated. Now you need an asnwer choice that will effectively keep the flow of the sentence, so E is the only choice because of its transition, whether.</p>