Question

Choose the option that completes the sentence correctly:

A cold wind ______ for the last three days.

• A. Blows
• B. Has been blowing
• C. Is blowing
• D. Blew

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Has been blowing

A sentence is in the present perfect continuous tense, when it implies that an action is ongoing, relative to the present moment, the clause "for the last three days" shows the relation between the wind and the number of days, hence the given sentence is in the present perfect continuous tense: Has/have + been + verb (ing). A sentence is in the present continuous tense, when the action that takes place is not relative to something else, for example, "A cold wind is blowing". Option B is correct as the phrase "has been blowing" is of the same tense as the sentence. Option A is incorrect as "blows" is in the simple present tense, which is not the same form as that of the sentence (perfect continuous). Option C is incorrect because "is blowing" is in present continuous, and is used when the action is not relative to the present moment. Option D is incorrect because 'blew' is in the simple past tense.