Choose the most appropriate option to complete the given sentence:-
After analysing data of last few decades, data scientists _____ to the conclusion that climate change is accelerating.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → have come
Present perfect tense:
- Form: have/has + past participle.
- Use: an action completed in the recent past whose result matters now.
- This sentence: the scientists have finished analysing the data and their conclusion stands at present. "Data scientists" is plural, so it takes "have come".
- Complete sentence: After analysing data of last few decades, data scientists have come to the conclusion that climate change is accelerating.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: come — Incorrect. The simple present is used for habits and general truths. Reaching a conclusion after analysing data is a single completed action.
Example: Visitors come to this temple every morning.
Option 2: are coming — Incorrect. The present continuous shows an action still in progress. The analysis is already done ("after analysing"), so the conclusion has been reached, not being reached.
Example: My cousins are coming to stay with us this week.
Option 3: had been coming — Incorrect. The past perfect continuous needs another past action for reference. The sentence is about the present ("climate change is accelerating"), so the tense does not fit.
Example: She had been coming to the library for years before it closed.
Contrast: an action completed whose result matters now takes the present perfect "have come". An action still in progress takes "are coming".