Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
It ______ since lunch, so the ground is still too wet for the inter-house kabaddi match.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → has been drizzling
Present perfect continuous tense:
- Its form is has / have been + V-ing.
- It shows an action that began in the past and is still going on now, or has just stopped and left a result.
- Clue word: “since lunch” gives the starting point, and “is still too wet” joins it to the present.
- Complete sentence: It has been drizzling since lunch, so the ground is still too wet for the inter-house kabaddi match.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: drizzled — Incorrect.
- “Drizzled” is the simple past.
- It shows a finished past action and does not go with “since”.
- Example: It snowed in Shimla last night.
Option 2: is drizzling — Incorrect.
- “Is drizzling” is the present continuous.
- It shows only what is happening now and does not take “since”.
- Example: Look, the dog is chasing a cat.
Option 3: had been drizzling — Incorrect.
- “Had been drizzling” is the past perfect continuous.
- It needs a later past action, but this sentence is set in the present (“is still too wet”).
- Example: We had been walking for an hour when the bus came.