Rewrite the sentence in correct past tense: "Officer quickly responded to the call and explains the details later."

• A. The officer quickly responded to the call and explained the details later.
• B. The officer quickly responds to the call and explains the details later.
• C. The officer quickly responded to the call and explain the details later.
• D. The officer quickly responding to the call and explained the details later.

Answer: (A)

When telling a sequence of actions that happened in the past, both verbs should match in past tense to keep the timeline clear. The first verb is in past tense, so the second action also needs a past-tense verb. That’s why the second verb should be “explained” instead of “explains.” Also, adding the article “The” before officer makes the subject phrase complete and natural in English. With those tweaks, the sentence reads cleanly as a single, past-tense statement: “The officer quickly responded to the call and explained the details later.” The other options mix tenses or use a participle form, which breaks the smooth, past-tense sequence.