Question

Choose the correct present continuous or perfect continuous form of the verb to complete the sentence:
Shobhita _______ for a month because of skin allergy.
A. has not swim
B. has not been swimming
C. is not swimming
D. swimming

Answer 1

Hint: The present continuous tense is used to express an action that is ongoing at the moment. Perfect continuous tense is used to express an action that has started in the past and is continuing in the present.

Complete answer:
Option A) has not swim – the verb has to be in the past participle form in this option, i.e. swum. Past participle form of the verb expresses an already completed action. So, this is an incorrect answer.

Option B) has not been swimming – is the correct answer. It is the present perfect continuous form of the verb ‘swim’. The word ‘not’ is also used in the statement and it is clearly stated that ‘she is suffering from skin allergy’ so ‘she has not been swimming’ is the correct tense i.e. a perfect continuous tense. So, this is the correct answer.

Option C) is not swimming – is an incorrect answer. It is the present participle form of the verb ‘swim’. The present participle form of a verb used for forming sentences is continuous tenses. So, this is an incorrect answer.

Option D) swimming – is an incorrect answer. It has no auxiliary verb to provide an appropriate tense to the sentence. Auxiliary verbs are verbs used to provide tense or mood to the main verb. For e.g. in ‘has been swimming’, ‘been’ is the auxiliary verb and ‘swimming’ is the main verb. So, the use of ‘swimming’ in the blank is grammatically incorrect.


 Hence, the correct answers are Option ‘B’.

Note: The present participle form of a verb is also used as gerund. For e.g. ‘Swimming is dangerous.’ Here ‘swimming’ is gerund. When a verb in the present participle form is used as a noun, then it is called a gerund.