Question

Use the past perfect continuous tense form of the verb in the following sentence:
George did not win the competition because he __________ hard enough.

• A. had not practiced
• B. had not been practiced
• C. had not been practicing
• D. was not practicing

Answer 1

The correct option is C had not been practicing

The past perfect continuous form of any verb is obtained by adding 'had been' to the base verb + ing. The verb in question is 'to practice'; for which the base/ root is simply 'practice'. Applying the above, we clearly get 'had been practicing', which is Option C) - the correct answer. SInce it is a negative sentence, the word 'not' is inserted into it. A) is past perfect; B) is present perfect as well but a variation of it using the word 'been' and lastly, D) is past continuous.