... as soon as he heard the alarm ring/rang/rung/has rung.

[Sunshine_duo]

Good day!

Can you please help me with this grammar question? It’s a question from an exam paper.

Question: He rushed out of the supermarket as soon as he heard the alarm ____________.
A. Ring
B. Rang
C. Rung
D. Has rung

I was thinking: the alarm rang before, or least at the same time as “he” heard it. So the answer shall be B, which is the past tense.

A – present tense
C – past participle can’t be used alone
D - Present perfect, which is not applicable here
(“had rung” could be an option but it’s not in ABCD.)

But the correct answer says A – from what angle I shall understand it? Is it a special use with “as soon as”?

Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

It has nothing to do with "as soon as". After "heard", the verb that refers to the sound that was heard is used in the bare infinitive.

I heard it ring.
He heard it ring.
We heard you speak.
They heard me shout.

It's true with other past forms of the verb "hear" too.

I have heard it ring.
We had heard you speak.

 

[Tarheel]

Do alarms ring in Singapore?

In American English alarms go off.

 

[emsr2d2]

Fire alarms are commonly a very loud automated bell. Bells ring. It's perfectly natural for me.

 

[tedmc]

You can read up on "verbs of perception".

 

[Sunshine_duo]

It has nothing to do with "as soon as". After "heard", the verb that refers to the sound that was heard is used in the bare infinitive.

I heard it ring.
He heard it ring.
We heard you speak.
They heard me shout.

It's true with other past forms of the verb "hear" too.

I have heard it ring.
We had heard you speak.

@emsr2d2, thank you for the tip!

May I know, if the use is more or less limited to human's senses, for example "saw"/"smelled"? Or it's applicable to any verbs?

 

[Tarheel]

You used "shall" twice in that post. (Very authoritative.)

Simply answer the question "What did he hear the alarm do?" Only one of the given answers is possible.

 

[emsr2d2]

May I know, if Is the use is more or less limited to human's human senses, for example "saw"/"smelled" no question mark here or it's is it applicable to any other verbs?

You need to practise writing basic questions. There's no need to be so formal as "May I know if ...?" It's old-fashioned and overly formal.

Why don't you see if you can come up with a sentence using a verb that has nothing to do with the senses but follows the same rule? (I'm not saying it's possible; I just want you to try.)

 

[SoothingDave]

Do alarms ring in Singapore?

In American English alarms go off.

Not only that, but my alarm clock goes on when it goes off.