In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the bracketed part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select "no improvement". By the time we set out, the sun (sit) pretty in the blue sky.?

Option 1 : was sitting 

The correct answer is 'was sitting'

• The sentence is in past tense. The action was completed in the past. The rule is : past continuous tense can be used to describe something that was happening continuously in the past when another action interrupted it (this action is expressed in simple past).
  • Examples :
  • I was making lunch when he arrived.
  • When I woke up, it was raining
• In the given question, it would be grammatically correct to use the past continuous tense as ‘by the time we set out’ is in simple past tense.

Correct Sentence - By the time we set out, the sun was sitting pretty in the blue sky.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.