Choose the correct option to fill in the blanks in the sentence:-
Flights kept ____ because of bad weather.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → being delayed
Complete sentence: Flights kept being delayed because of bad weather. The flights did not delay anything. The bad weather delayed them, so the verb is passive.
| Option | Form and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) delay | "Kept" cannot take the base form of a verb ("kept delay"). The active "delay" would mean the flights delayed something else. | – |
| (2) being delayed (answer) | Keep (meaning continue) is followed by a verb in the -ing form: kept talking, kept raining. When the subject receives the action instead of doing it, the -ing form is passive: being + past participle. Keep + being + delayed. | The match kept being interrupted by rain. |
| (3) having delayed | "Having delayed" is a perfect active form. It shows an earlier completed action done by the subject, which is not the meaning here. | – |
| (4) having been delayed | "Having been delayed" is passive, but its perfect form marks one finished action before another. "Keep" describes an action that happens again and again, so it takes the simple -ing form "being delayed". | – |