Modal Perfect Continuous: Could / Might Have Been Doing (Alternative) (C2)

Your task

Fill in the gap in each sentence with the correct word or phrase.

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Keep practising! Focus on the explanations below.

While we sat in stationary traffic for the best part of two hours, we a perfectly relaxed dinner at home. (have)

Correct answer: could have been having

A sustained alternative we sacrificed by choosing wrongly → continuous "could have been having". "Might/may have been having" would mean "perhaps we were", which the speaker's frustration rules out.

He hasn't answered a single one of my calls all afternoon — he that pitch deck for the third time today. (rewrite)

Correct answer: might have been rewriting

A hedged guess at what occupied a sustained past stretch → continuous epistemic "might have been rewriting" / "may have been rewriting".

With even a slightly different lineup back in 2015, that band stadiums consistently for the past five years. (fill)

Correct answer: could have been filling

A capability claim for a hypothetical past version of the band over a sustained period → "could have been filling".

The radio silence from that team for those three months suddenly makes sense — they under a tight non-disclosure agreement the entire time. (work)

Correct answer: might have been working

A hedged after-the-fact explanation of a sustained past stretch → continuous epistemic "might have been working" / "may have been working".

If I'd taken that teaching post back in 2012, I in Lisbon for the past dozen years. (live)

Correct answer: could have been living

An unrealised sustained past path → continuous counterfactual "could have been living". "Might/may have been living" would be epistemic ("perhaps was"), which the counterfactual setup rules out.

Looking back at his bank statements from those years, he on the quiet long before the family suspected anything was wrong. (gamble)

Correct answer: might have been gambling

A hedged retrospective guess about a sustained past habit → continuous epistemic "might have been gambling" / "may have been gambling".

While the four of us sat on that pointless conference call for three hours, we the proposal that's now seven hours overdue. (write)

Correct answer: could have been writing

A sustained past alternative we visibly sacrificed → continuous unrealised opportunity "could have been writing".

His sudden burst of pace in the final lap caught the whole squad off guard — he on his own quietly all winter. (train)

Correct answer: might have been training

A hedged after-the-fact explanation of a long covert effort → continuous epistemic "might have been training" / "may have been training".

With three straight A-stars in the sciences, she medicine at Oxford for the past three years instead of accepting the law place at the last minute. (read)

Correct answer: could have been reading

A sustained alternative academic path → continuous counterfactual "could have been reading".

The unusually heavy chiaroscuro on the underdrawing suggests the apprentice Caravaggio's manner quite deliberately at that stage. (imitate)

Correct answer: might have been imitating

A formal, hedged historical claim about a sustained past artistic activity → continuous epistemic "might have been imitating" / "may have been imitating".

During those long quiet years in Devon with no commute, we Italian properly and we'd be fluent by now. (learn)

Correct answer: could have been learning

A sustained alternative use of a clearly available past stretch → continuous "could have been learning".

From the open browser tabs on his work laptop, he for jobs at competitor firms during company hours for some time. (interview)

Correct answer: might have been interviewing

Hedged retrospective speculation about a covert sustained past activity → continuous epistemic "might have been interviewing" / "may have been interviewing".

With a single permission slip from the school, twenty more sixth-formers at the food bank every Saturday morning last term. (help)

Correct answer: could have been helping

A sustained capability conditional on a missing past authorisation → continuous "could have been helping".

The systematic shifts in column three suggest the analyst figures from the wrong quarter throughout the model. (use)

Correct answer: might have been using

A formal hedged hypothesis about a sustained past technical error → continuous epistemic "might have been using" / "may have been using".

With our calibration equipment in proper working order, we telemetry data the whole night, not staring helplessly at error logs. (collect)

Correct answer: could have been collecting

A sustained alternative we sacrificed because of a clearly fixable problem → continuous unrealised opportunity "could have been collecting".

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