In the sentence "After a noisy and tumultuous supper, we __________ for the day", which verb form correctly completes the idea that we ended the day and went to rest?

Introduction / Context:
This fill in the blank question checks your understanding of a fixed expression in English: to retire for the day. The sentence describes what happened after a noisy and tumultuous supper, and you need to choose the correct form of the verb retire to match the past narrative and complete the expression naturally.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence: After a noisy and tumultuous supper, we ________ for the day.
• The context is a past narrative about events that have already happened.
• The expression retire for the day means to go to one room or to bed in order to rest.
• Options: retirement, retiring, retired, retire.

Concept / Approach:
The phrase to retire for the day is normally used in the past tense when telling a story about what happened, such as We retired for the day. The subject we requires a past tense verb form to match the narrative about a supper that has already taken place. Retirement is a noun, retiring is a participle, and retire is the base form. Only retired fits grammatically and semantically here.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Notice that the sentence begins with After a noisy and tumultuous supper, which clearly refers to a past event.Step 2: Recognise that the next action we performed at that time must also be in the past tense.Step 3: Recall the fixed expression to retire for the day, meaning to end the day activities and usually go to sleep.Step 4: Choose the past tense form retired to match the subject we and the completed action.Step 5: Confirm that retirement is a noun, retiring would require an auxiliary like were, and retire is the base form, so none of these fits as well as retired.

Verification / Alternative check:
Test each option in the sentence. We retirement for the day is ungrammatical because retirement is a noun. We retiring for the day is incomplete and would need an auxiliary verb like were. We retire for the day would be simple present and would not match the past context set by After a noisy and tumultuous supper. We retired for the day fits smoothly and sounds like natural storytelling English, confirming that it is the correct choice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Retirement is used in phrases like after his retirement, not directly after we. Retiring can be used as an adjective, as in a retiring person, or as part of a continuous verb form, but not as a standalone main verb after we in this context. Retire is the base form of the verb and would either be used in the infinitive to retire or in present tense, which would clash with the past narrative already established in the sentence.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes forget to align verb tense with the time markers in the sentence, especially when phrases like after appear. As a rule, when the opening phrase clearly describes a completed event, the main clause that follows should usually be in the past tense as well. Memorising common phrases like retired for the night or retired for the day can also help you answer quickly and confidently in the exam.

Final Answer:
The correct form is the simple past retired, giving After a noisy and tumultuous supper, we retired for the day, so option C is correct.