Question

Which sentence uses the correct verb forms? Sasha knew he had become a real writer when his essay is published in the newspaper. Sasha knew he had become a real writer when his essay was published in the newspaper.

Answer 1

It would be the second sentence. Sahsa knew (the word knew here is in past tense, which gives us our clue) he had (another past tense word) become (yet another past tense word) a real writer when his essay (was) published in the newspaper. In the first sentence, it said, "...a real writer when his essay is published in the newspaper." This would be wrong because everything had happened before, so is would mean that it had not happened yet.