Which of the following sentences is in the past perfect continuous te…

The correct answer is Option (2) → By the time the doctor arrived, Grandpa had been coughing for over an hour.

Past perfect continuous tense:

• Its form is had been + V-ing.
• It shows how long an action had gone on up to a moment in the past.
• In Option 2, “had been coughing” has “had been” and the -ing verb “coughing”.
• “For over an hour” is how long, and “the doctor arrived” is the past moment.
• Example: We had been waiting for an hour when the bus came.

Why the Other Options are Incorrect?

Option 1: Grandpa had been unwell for a week before he finally agreed to see a doctor. — Incorrect.

• This is the past perfect of “be”: had been + a describing word (“unwell”).
• There is no -ing verb after “had been”, so it is not the past perfect continuous.

Option 3: Grandpa was coughing badly all through the night. — Incorrect.

• This is the past continuous: was / were + V-ing.
• It has “was coughing”, not “had been coughing”.

Option 4: Grandpa has been coughing since last Monday. — Incorrect.

• This is the present perfect continuous: has / have been + V-ing.
• It begins with “has”, so the action goes on up to now, not up to a past moment.