The given sentence is: "I wish my bus ........ so late, then I could have reached home before breakfast." To fill in the blank, we need to choose the correct grammatical form from the options provided, which are:
- had not arrived
- does not arrive
- has not arrived
- arrived
Let's analyze each option:
- had not arrived: This option is in the past perfect tense. The phrase "I wish" suggests a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situation about the past. Using "had not arrived" fits perfectly here because it reflects a desire that something in the past did not happen.
- does not arrive: This option uses present tense, which is not appropriate in the context of the sentence because the speaker is talking about a past wish.
- has not arrived: This is present perfect tense, indicating something that has relevance to the present. Again, it does not fit because the context is about a past event.
- arrived: This past tense option merely states the event without any negation or hypothetical aspect, which does not match the sentence's need for expressing a wishful thought about a past different scenario.
Correct Option: "had not arrived"
Explanation: The sentence expresses a regretful wish about the past. The appropriate verb form to express a hypothetical situation in the past is the past perfect. Hence, "had not arrived" is the correct choice.