Directions: The following items have four sentences, one of which is correct. Select the correct sentence.

Step-by-step solution

The adverbs 'hardly', 'scarcely', and 'barely' are followed by the conjunction 'when'. When a sentence begins with a negative adverb like 'hardly' or 'scarcely', the law of inversion applies, meaning the auxiliary verb comes before the subject (e.g., 'had I' instead of 'I had'). Option (a) is incorrect because it uses 'than' instead of 'when'. Option (c) is incorrect because it lacks the required inversion ('I had' instead of 'had I'). Option (d) is incorrect because it uses 'then' instead of 'when'. Option (b) cor