Question

Fill in the blank.:- When I visited them, she ____ been working for six months.

• A. Had been
• B. was
• C. has been
• D. were now

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

To solve the given question, we need to fill in the blank with the correct verb form to complete the sentence in the context of the description provided. Let's analyze the options one by one:

1. Option: Had been
   This option uses the past perfect continuous tense, which is used to indicate that an action began in the past and continued up to another point in the past. In this sentence, the point in the past is "when I visited them," implying that before this visit, "she had been working for six months." Hence, this implies the continuity and completion of the prior act of working.
2. Option: Was
   This option uses the simple past tense which indicates an action that occurred at a specific point in the past; however, it does not indicate continuity or a duration into the past relative to another past event. This does not fit well with the six-month duration without additional clarification.
3. Option: Has been
   This option uses the present perfect continuous tense, which expresses an action that began in the past and continues into the present. Because the sentence's action ("visited") is set in the past, this present-based structure is not contextually appropriate.
4. Option: Were now
   This is grammatically incorrect in this context, as "were" is past tense while "now" indicates the present, leading to an inconsistent timeframe.

Based on the explanation above, the correct answer is "Had been." It correctly conveys that "she" started working and continued doing so for six months up to the point of the speaker's visit in the past.

Therefore, the completed and grammatically correct sentence is: "When I visited them, she had been working for six months."