0
You visited us 0 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

Which of the following sentence(s) is not in the past perfect continuous tense:
  1. Had Sam and John been cheating on the exams before the school put monitors in the classroom?
  2. Had you been waiting long before the bus arrived?
  3. Her friends had been thinking of calling the doctor when she walked in.
  4. It had rained heavily for several hours and the streets were very wet.

A
It had rained heavily for several hours and the streets were very wet.
B
Her friends had been thinking of calling the doctor when she walked in.
C
Had Sam and John been cheating on the exams before the school put monitors in the classroom?
D
Had you been waiting long before the bus arrived?
Solution
Verified by Toppr

The correct option is D It had rained heavily for several hours and the streets were very wet.
The tense of a sentence denotes a time, whether it is the time now (present), time then (past) or the time to come (future). The verb of a sentence has most to do with the tense. The past perfect continuous tense describes an action which began in the past and continued up to a certain point of time in the past, example, 'I had been practicing my dance steps when I got a call from work'. The tense has the form had been + present participle (verb + ing), this form is used in a positive sentence of this tense, as seen in option C. We need to choose an option that isn't in this tense form, hence C is incorrect. In interrogative sentences, the form changes slightly, the subject and the first helping verb 'had' interchange their positions, such that the helping verb comes first and the subject comes second. This can be seen in options A and B, had + Sam and John/you + been +cheating/waiting, we can't choose these options, as they are in the continuous tense form, hence options A and B are incorrect. The tense in option D is in the past perfect tense, as it's of the form had + past participle (verb + ed) 'had rained'. It refers to an action that got completed in the past, it's not in the past perfect continuous form, hence option D is correct.

Was this answer helpful?
0
Similar Questions
Q1

Identify the verb which gives past perfect continuous tense to the sentence.

I had been looking for a gold coin since a very long time.


View Solution
Q2

Identify the verb which gives the past perfect continuous tense to the sentence.

The children had been playing in the garden.


View Solution
Q3
Use the past perfect continuous tense form of the verb in the following sentence:
I ___________ very long before my friend arrived.
View Solution
Q4

Identify the verb which gives the past perfect continuous tense to the sentence.

The workers had been ploughing the field since morning.


View Solution
Q5
Choose the past perfect continuous tense form of the verb in the following sentence:
He __________ for three hours before a bus finally arrived.
View Solution