The volcanic eruption happened without warning, forcing the research team to evacuate the island within hours.
火山喷发毫无预兆地发生了，迫使研究团队在数小时内撤离该岛。
Which choice best defines “happened”?
D — Past tense of happen; took place or occurred. “happened” means past tense of happen; took place or occurred.
Which word means “past tense of happen; took place or occurred”?
C — happened. “happened” means past tense of happen; took place or occurred.
happened — past tense of happen; took place or occurred. In Chinese: 发生了.
happened is pronounced /ˈhæpənd/.
The volcanic eruption happened without warning, forcing the research team to evacuate the island within hours. (火山喷发毫无预兆地发生了，迫使研究团队在数小时内撤离该岛。)
occurred, took place, transpired — all close in meaning to happened (past tense of happen; took place or occurred).
ceased, stopped — each the opposite of happened (past tense of happen; took place or occurred).
Yes. happened is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.