TOEIC Reading 5 Exercisee 316

<p dir="ltr">Let's analyze the sentence:<br></p><p><strong>The accountant ____ [that the travel expenses (claimed by the sales team) were invalid and would not be reimbursed] .</strong><span>&nbsp;</span></p><p>The part wrapped with "[]" is a noun clause. The part wrapped with "()" is an adjective clause.</p><p dir="ltr">Here, we are missing a verb before the noun clause. All four choices can be used as a verb, and the key to identifying the correct answer is the tense.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr"><span><span>Based on the meaning of the context and judging from the verbs used in the noun clause, such as “were” and “would not be”, the context of the whole question happens in the past. Thus, the correct answer is (A) "</span><span>affirmed"</span><span>, a verb in the simple past tense.&nbsp;</span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span><span>(B) "</span><span>have affirmed"</span><span> is incorrect because the verb “have affirmed” is plural while the subject of the main clause is singular.&nbsp;</span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span><span>(C) "</span><span>affirms"</span><span> is incorrect because it’s in the simple present tense.&nbsp;</span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span><span>(D) "</span><span>will affirm"</span><span> is incorrect because it is in the simple future tense.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>