She ______ for her cat for two days when she finally found it in the garage.
(A) looked
(B) had been looked
(C) had been looking
(D) were looking
Answer (2)
The correct answer is (C) had been looking, as it accurately represents the ongoing action of searching for the cat over a period of two days prior to finding it. This choice uses the past perfect continuous tense, which effectively conveys the timeline of events. The other options do not fit the context as well.
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The correct answer to fill in the blank is (C) 'had been looking.'
This sentence is an example of using the past perfect continuous tense, which is used to describe an action that was ongoing in the past before another action occurred. Here's how it breaks down:
Past Perfect Continuous Tense : This tense is formed using 'had been' followed by the present participle (verb + -ing). It is used to indicate that an action started in the past and continued up until another point in the past. In this case, 'had been looking' indicates that she looked for the cat for a continuous period before finally finding it.
Context of the Sentence : 'She had been looking for her cat for two days when she finally found it in the garage.' This context shows us that her action of looking for the cat was ongoing until she found the cat.
Grammar Point : The sentence consists of two parts:
'She had been looking for her cat for two days' (emphasizing the duration of the action that was ongoing),
'when she finally found it in the garage' (indicating when the ongoing action stopped).
Why Other Options are Incorrect :
(A) 'looked': This simple past tense implies a completed action and does not convey that the action was ongoing for two days.
(B) 'had been looked': This is incorrect because 'had been looked' is in a passive voice and doesn't make sense in this context; the subject should perform the action, not receive it.
(D) 'were looking': This is incorrect as 'were looking' is the past continuous tense and does not fit the requirement of something happening over a continuous span in the past before another action.
Therefore, the most appropriate choice is (C) 'had been looking.'
