A century ______ men fought over gold.

Study for the First Certificate in English (FCE) Test. Prepare with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each offering hints and detailed explanations. Ace your exam!

Multiple Choice

A century ______ men fought over gold.

Explanation:
Using an adverb of time that places the event in the past relative to now is the key idea. A century ago is a natural, fixed way to say one hundred years in the past. When you say “A century ago, men fought over gold,” the meaning is clear: the fighting took place one hundred years before now. The other options don’t fit as cleanly. Since is used with perfect tenses to connect past actions to the present (for example, “It’s been a century since…”), and doesn’t work with a simple past verb in this short form. During would require a longer clause like “a century during which men fought,” which isn’t the natural standalone sentence here. Before would imply an earlier point relative to something else and isn’t the natural choice to express a fixed time in the past.

Using an adverb of time that places the event in the past relative to now is the key idea. A century ago is a natural, fixed way to say one hundred years in the past. When you say “A century ago, men fought over gold,” the meaning is clear: the fighting took place one hundred years before now.

The other options don’t fit as cleanly. Since is used with perfect tenses to connect past actions to the present (for example, “It’s been a century since…”), and doesn’t work with a simple past verb in this short form. During would require a longer clause like “a century during which men fought,” which isn’t the natural standalone sentence here. Before would imply an earlier point relative to something else and isn’t the natural choice to express a fixed time in the past.

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