Complete the sentence: Three weeks ___ I returned from my holiday, I received something interesting in the post.

Complete the sentence: Three weeks ___ I returned from my holiday, I received something interesting in the post.

• A. During
• B. Before
• C. Since
• D. After

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is showing when one event happens relative to another. After is used to indicate that the second event occurs later than the first. In this sentence, returning from the holiday happened first, and three weeks later, something arrived in the post. So the natural form is “Three weeks after I returned from my holiday, I received something interesting in the post.” The other options don’t fit the timing. During would refer to a period in which something happens, not a point after another event. Before would place the receiving event before the return, reversing the sequence. Since is used with ongoing time from a past point to the present or with present perfect, not to link a simple past event to a later past event in this structure.

The main idea here is showing when one event happens relative to another. After is used to indicate that the second event occurs later than the first. In this sentence, returning from the holiday happened first, and three weeks later, something arrived in the post. So the natural form is “Three weeks after I returned from my holiday, I received something interesting in the post.”

The other options don’t fit the timing. During would refer to a period in which something happens, not a point after another event. Before would place the receiving event before the return, reversing the sequence. Since is used with ongoing time from a past point to the present or with present perfect, not to link a simple past event to a later past event in this structure.