Verb Tense Completion
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By the time the new regulations come into effect, many small businesses - - - their operations, as they - - - with rising costs and decreasing demand for years. A) will cease / struggled B) have ceased / have struggled C) will have ceased / will have struggled D) will have ceased / have been struggling E) had ceased / were struggling
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Hi Elif, let's look at this sentence completion question together to find the correct verb tenses.
Analyzing Sentence Tenses
First, let's identify the time markers in the sentence. The phrase 'By the time' indicates we are looking at a relationship between two events in time.
Key Marker 1: "By the time..."
The phrase 'come into effect' is in the present simple, which tells us we are talking about a future point in time.
When we use 'By the time' for a future event, the main action is usually in the Future Perfect, describing an action that will be completed before that time. This suggests the first gap should be 'will have ceased'.
Now let's look at the second part of the sentence: 'as they blank with rising costs... for years'. The phrase 'for years' indicates a continuous action.
Key Marker 2: "...for years" (Duration)
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