Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence.
The common masses have waited for three hours to meet the king in the royal court.
- Ahas been waiting
- Bhad waiting
- Chave been waiting
- Dwill waiting
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
The phrase "for three hours" indicates a duration of time extending up to the present or a point in the past, which requires the Present Perfect Continuous tense (
has/have+been+verb-ing
). Since "The common masses" is treated as a plural collective noun phrase in this context, it takes the plural auxiliary verb "have". Thus, "have been waiting" is the correct substitution.
has/have+been+verb-ing
). Since "The common masses" is treated as a plural collective noun phrase in this context, it takes the plural auxiliary verb "have". Thus, "have been waiting" is the correct substitution.