Which one of the following sentences is correct and why? Are there any other options? I'm not sure about the usage of "was", "has" and "on" in this situation.
- This building caught fire
- This building was caught on fire
- This building caught on fire
- This building has caught fire
I would like to use this to say that an abandoned building caught fire many years ago.
Related: catch fire; catch on fire , but it does not address the "was" part.
Best Answer
If you are specifically talking about something in the past, your best bet is option one or three. They're both correct for your usage and they both mean the same thing. The preposition "on" is discretionary - you can use it or not.
In your exact sentence, I recommend omitting "on".
You do not want to use version two. It sounds a bit odd to me as a native speaker. There are probably cases where it would be acceptable but it doesn't feel natural.
Version four is perfectly fine but not in your example case. The "has" implies that the building is currently in flames and it happened recently... which, since you're talking about something that occurred many years ago, would be incorrect.
Note that it may be helpful to continue your sentence to explain what the end result was.