Fill in the blanks with the present perfect continuous or past perfect continuous tense form of the verb.
1When I looked out of the window, I noticed that the ground was wet. It ............... raining.
Wrong!
Use "had been" because the rain happened before the past moment when the speaker noticed the wet ground.
2Look—the streets are flooded. It ............... raining for hours.
Wrong!
Use "has been" because the rain started in the past and is still connected to the present situation.
3He had bruises all over his body, and his clothes were dirty. He seemed like he ............... fighting.
Wrong!
Use "had been" because the fighting happened before the past observation about his bruises and dirty clothes.
4"You look tired." "Yes, I ............... working all day."
Wrong!
Use "have been" because the work explains the present result, "You look tired."
5She knew the city well. She ............... living there for a long time.
Wrong!
Use "had been" because her living there happened before the past time shown by "knew."
6We ............... working in the garden for about two hours when it started raining.
Wrong!
Use "had been" because the work continued up to the later past event when it started raining.
7He ............... teaching at a private institution in Mumbai when he joined the civil service.
Wrong!
Use "had been" because his teaching was in progress before the past event when he joined the civil service.
8I am seeing the doctor in the afternoon. I ............... feeling well for some time.
Wrong!
Use "have not been" because the speaker's poor health started in the past and continues to affect the present.
9He consulted a doctor because he ............... feeling well for several days.
Wrong!
Use "had not been" because the poor health happened before the past action of consulting a doctor.
10I hope the train arrives soon. I ............... waiting for half an hour.
Wrong!
Use "have been" because the waiting started in the past and continues now while the speaker hopes the train arrives soon.
11I ............... waiting for about 30 minutes when at last the train arrived.
Wrong!
Use "had been" because the waiting continued up to the past moment when the train arrived.
12When he died at the age of 72, he ............... living in Tokyo for 37 years.
Wrong!
Use "had been" because his living in Tokyo continued up to the past time of his death.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- When I looked out of the window, I noticed that the ground was wet. It had been raining.
- Look—the streets are flooded. It has been raining for hours.
- He had bruises all over his body, and his clothes were dirty. He seemed like he had been fighting.
- “You look tired.” “Yes, I have been working all day.”
- She knew the city well. She had been living there for a long time.
- We had been working in the garden for about two hours when it started raining.
- He had been teaching at a private institution in Mumbai when he joined the civil service.
- I am seeing the doctor in the afternoon. I have not been feeling well for some time.
- He consulted a doctor because he had not been feeling well for several days.
- I hope the train arrives soon. I have been waiting for half an hour.
- I had been waiting for about 30 minutes when at last the train arrived.
- When he died at the age of 72, he had been living in Tokyo for 37 years.