Question

Fill in the blank with the appropriate form of the verb.
It _ _ _ _ _ since yesterday afternoon.
a) Rained
b) Rain
c) Rains
d) Has been raining

Answer 1

Hint: In the sentence given to us, the action is still in continuation as it says, “It _ _ _ _ since yesterday afternoon.”Which means since yesterday till now (present), i.e. it is still raining.

Complete answer:
As it is still raining just like it was yesterday afternoon. The rain has continued since then, which is a time in the past. This event (rain) happened in the past and is in continuation in the present time since then, so the blank will be filled with present continuous tense, i.e. option d “has been raining”. The correct sentence would be “It has been raining since yesterday.”
Option a “rained” is incorrect as it is the past participle or simple past tense. The sentence needs to be filled with present continuous. the past participle is used for events or actions of the past which have already been completed and are not related to or continuing in the present time.
Option b and c are incorrect too. Option b, “rain” is in the simple present tense. Also, rain is used as a noun or a verb. Using rain in this sentence would not make it meaningful. Thus, option ‘b’ is incorrect.
Coming to option c, “rains”, it is the third-person singular simple present indicative form of rain."It rains" is a statement of fact, meaning someone is asserting that rain is something that happens. It does not specify the time duration in which it happens, it is a general statement. Thus, option ‘c’ is incorrect.

Note:
 The phrase “since yesterday afternoon” suggests that it was raining yesterday and it is still raining since then. For an action that is in continuation since the past till the present time, we use present continuous tense.