Question:

Select the correct option to fill in the blank:
'By the time the rescue team arrives next Monday, the stranded climbers ________ on the mountain for a week.'

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1. Whenever a sentence begins with "By the time..." followed by a present tense verb referring to a future event, look for the Future Perfect tense ("will have + V3") in the main clause.
2. The addition of "for [duration]" (for a week) further reinforces the need for a perfect aspect.
Updated On: Jun 8, 2026
  • will be surviving
  • will have survived
  • have survived
  • would survive
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation


Step 1: Understanding the Question:

1. This is a grammar question focusing on correct tense agreement and usage in complex sentences.
2. We need to identify the correct verb form to fill in the blank, representing an action that will be completed at or before a specified point in the future.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

1. Firstly, let us analyze the temporal markers present in the sentence:
- "By the time..." is a prepositional phrase used to denote a deadline or a future target point.
- "...the rescue team arrives next Monday" establishes that the target point is in the future.
- "...for a week" represents the duration of the action up to that future target point.
2. Secondly, when we describe an action that will have been completed or will have reached a certain duration *before* or *at* a specific point in the future, we must use the Future Perfect tense.
3. The grammatical structure of the Future Perfect tense is:
\[ \text{Subject} + \text{will have} + \text{Past Participle (V3)} \]
4. Therefore, the verb "survive" must be written as "will have survived".
5. Thirdly, let us evaluate the incorrect options:
- Option (A) "will be surviving" is in the Future Continuous tense. It would mean they will be actively in the middle of surviving at that moment next Monday, but it fails to convey the completion of the "for a week" duration.
- Option (C) "have survived" is in the Present Perfect tense, which cannot be used to describe an action set in a future timeframe ("next Monday").
- Option (D) "would survive" uses a conditional modal verb, which does not fit the predictive, timeline-based structure of this sentence.

Step 3: Final Answer:

1. The grammatically correct phrase is "will have survived", which completes the Future Perfect construction.
2. This corresponds directly to Option (B).
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