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Question

Difficulty: MediumVerbs, Tenses, and Aspect

Which verb form correctly completes the sentence below to express an action that will be ongoing and completed relative to a specified point in the future?

Answer:By the time the new environmental regulation takes effect next month, the task force 【will have been investigating】 the industrial waste disposal practices for over half a year.

Answer

will have been investigating (or will have investigated)
The correct answer requires the future perfect continuous ('will have been investigating') or future perfect ('will have investigated') because the temporal prepositional phrase 'By the time... next month' anchors the reference point in the future, and the prepositional phrase 'for over half a year' denotes the duration of the activity preceding that future point.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the temporal markers in the main and subordinate clauses.
The subordinate clause begins with the time conjunction 'By the time' and uses a present-tense verb ('takes effect next month') to establish a future time frame.
Clauses introduced by 'by the time' referencing the future require a perfect aspect in the main clause to indicate an action prior to that time.
2
Evaluate the duration expression to select the appropriate aspect.
The phrase 'for over half a year' indicates continuous duration leading up to that future reference point, requiring either the future perfect continuous ('will have been investigating') or future perfect simple ('will have investigated').
Simple future ('will investigate') or present continuous ('are investigating') fail to mark completion relative to a future milestone.

Key Concept

Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous Tenses
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Verbs, Tenses, and Aspect

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