She had been spoken to...?

[asterick]

Test No. incompl/inter-91 "Tenses (2)", question 5

She was annoyed that she ......... spoken to like that.

(a) had been
(b) has been
(c) was been
(d) will have been

Test No. incompl/inter-91 "Tenses (2)", answer 5

She was annoyed that she had been spoken to like that.

Correct answer: (a) had been
_________________________

why is the answer had been and not have been or has been or was spoken to like that

[Torsten]

Hi Asterick,

Thanks for asking this interesting question.
In the sentence you are referring to two things happen: First somebody speaks to another person in an impolite or unpleasant way after which this person gets angry.
The construction she had been spoken to is passive voice. (subject + form of have + past participle).

Because we are talking about something that happened in the past the first action (she had been spoken to) is in the Past Perfect tense and the second action (she was annoyed) is in the Simple Past tense.

After she, he and it we use has not have.

Let us know if you have any further questions. Regards. Torsten
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Ryoga]

Well, i answered 'has been' first, and still not sure i understand that 'had been' is right.
Is it because, that action 'speaking' was completed somewhere in the past (after what she became angry), but has nothing to do with present situation? The result of 'speaking' doesn't effect (or has no effect - what is better?) on present. (At least it's not obvious looking at this sentence). Is my logic right?

[Alan]

Hi Ryoga,

The sentence: