Question

Frame meaningful sentences using the words given in brackets in their appropriate forms:
Tom started reading a book two hours ago. He is still reading it and now he is on page 53.
(read / for two hours) ______
(read / 53 pages so far) ______
a)He will read for two hours.
He will be reading 53 pages so far.
b)He is reading for two hours.
He read 53 pages so far.
c)He was reading for two hours.
He read 53 pages so far.
d)He has been reading for two hours.
He has read 53 pages so far.

Answer 1

Hint: In the first sentence, Tom’s action ‘reading’ began in the past and as we can see, the action is still taking place in the present. And the action in the second sentence shows that Tom started reading the book two hours ago and has completed 53 pages now, Hence the action is complete.

Complete step-by-step answer:

We know there are two actions portrayed in the sentences;
In the first sentence, Tom began reading the book two hours ago and is still reading it. Hence, we can conclude the use of Present Perfect Continuous; Has/Have + Been + Continuous form of the verb.
In the second sentence, Tom started reading the book two hours ago and has read 53 pages so far. Hence, we can conclude the use of Present Perfect; Has/Have + Past participle of the verb.
So, the correct answer is Option D- He has been reading for two hours
He has read 53 pages so far.

Note: We use the Present Perfect Continuous tense when we talk about an action that began in the past and is still taking place. And we use the Present Perfect tense when we talk about an action that began in the past and has been completed now.