Question

Choose the correct form of the verb to fill in the following blank:
It looked like it __________ very hard because the ground was very wet.

• A. was raining
• B. had been raining
• C. is raining
• D. rains

Answer 1

The correct option is B had been raining

Here, 'had been raining' in Past Perfect Continuous Tense is correct because it is used to indicate an action in the past that began before a certain point in the past and continued up untill that time.
'Was raining' in past continuous is incorrect because it is used to indicate uncompleted action in the past (with or without time reference).
'Is raining' in present continuous is incorrect it implies an action going on at the time of speaking.
'Rains' in present simple is incorrect because it is used to indicate a future event on a designated date as part of a plan.