had been raining, rained

[joham]

This question is taken from a test paper:

--Was your journey pleasant when you went to London this time?
--No, it ______ for three days when we arrived, so we didn't travel a lot.

A. was raining B. would rain C. had been raining D. rained

The given answer was C. But I thought D was the correct choice, for I thought it was the rain after the speaker arrived, rather than the rain before they arrived, that made them unable to travel a lot .

Am I right? Thank you very much in advance.

 

[heidita]

This question is taken from a test paper:

--Was your journey pleasant when you went to London this time?
--No, it ______ for three days when we arrived, so we didn't travel a lot.

A. was raining B. would rain C. had been raining D. rained

The given answer was C. But I thought D was the correct choice, for I thought it was the rain after the speaker arrived, rather than the rain before they arrived, that made them unable to travel a lot .

Am I right? Thank you very much in advance.

No, rained is not pssible, as it would not be logical and in accordance with "for three days".

It could have been possible : It rained when we arrived.

Or: it rained for three days after we arrived/had arrived.

 

[Shakespeare's brother]

Agreed, 'rained' would have been my choice. The nuances of meaning in the sentences resulting from use of C and D may have made it an attractive choice for the test paper...In fact 'had been raining' would really only be viable if the rain had caused extensive flooding which had in turn ruined the holiday.

Not a clear option here, but 'rained' for me.

 

[heidita]

Hmmm, sounds perfectly logical to me, though. I think after would be required.

 

[Shakespeare's brother]

Heidita, agreed, but it makes it even stranger that the wording was found in a test paper!