Question:medium

Identify the correct sentence from the options given below.

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A state lasting up to a future date needs the future perfect, will have been married, not past perfect or simple future.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
  • The news channel agreed to report that next Sunday the couple had been married for 10 years.
  • The news channel agreed to report that next Sunday the couple will have been married for 10 years.
  • The news channel agreed to report that next Sunday the couple will be married for 10 years.
  • The news channel agreed to report that next Sunday the couple could have been married for 10 years.
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The sentence needs a tense that shows a state, being married, reaching a fixed duration, 10 years, by a specific future date, next Sunday. This is a classic trigger for the future perfect, so each option should be checked against that need.

Step 2: Key Approach:
The future perfect tense, will have been plus past participle, is used exactly for this, something ongoing that will be complete, or will have reached a stated point, by a future time. Any option using a different tense is likely shifting the meaning away from what the sentence intends.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Option 1 uses the past perfect had been married, which looks back from a past point in time, not forward to next Sunday, so it does not fit a sentence anchored to a future time reference.
Option 3 uses simple future will be married, which suggests the marriage or its duration starts at that future point, not that it will have already lasted 10 years by then, changing the meaning of the sentence.
Option 4 uses could have been married, which expresses doubt or possibility about whether the marriage happened at all, while the sentence intends a definite, agreed fact for the news report.
Option 2, will have been married for 10 years, correctly uses future perfect to show the marriage will have run for a full 10 years by the time next Sunday arrives.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Option 2 is the grammatically correct sentence, using future perfect for a state completing 10 years by a future date, while the other three options each shift the tense or meaning incorrectly.
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