Does 'an hour before' mean something special here?
We were told that he (leave) an hour before.
The problem says change the word in the parenthesis if necessary.
I think any of 'had left', 'left', 'leaves', or 'will leave' is possible. But the answer is only 'left'.
[addition]
I am adding a context.
How about if it's in context like this:
A: Why does he always disappear before five o'clock?
B: We were told that he leaves an hour before.
The test doesn't give us any context. Most beginners can't say much, but we are all have a native language and are confused when prohibited certain expressions as though it never works.
There's some language that have very different in every way from English, and I happen to have such language as my native language. So, please be a little patient for me.
Search from various English teachers...
Corrections · 5
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Thank you, James Patton. No, please don't say you are terrible at English. That makes me stop from believing what you say.. I don't think you are terrible at English, and now I'm happy. :)
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Further thinking; leaves isn’t a past tense, and can be somewhat abstract but does imply leaving.
He left... means it’s done. He leaves at 530(telling when the bus driver goes), he left at 530(specifies it happened).
I’m terrible at english. But it is native to me.
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Thank you, Dominic, Darcy.
Of course, I mean depending on the context.
My understanding is in real conversation, people don't repeat the known things.
I don't think it's only me that learners' are confused if something is prohibited when talking about a sentenence without any context.
We want to know possibilities.
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"Leaves" would be the only one not correct in this instance.
"We were told that he left an hour before." means he left an hour before the speakers were told.
"We were told that he had left an hour before." also means he left an hour before the speakers were told.
"We were told that he will leave an hour before." is possible, but needs more after "before." I would ask, "He will leave an hour before WHAT?"
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you're right, "leaves" is unlikely, but still correct. "left" or "had left" are correct and more likely, in order to be consistent with the past tense
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