The river has overflown its banks on account of the flood.
2025
The river has overflown its banks on account of the flood.
- A.
has overflowed
- B.
had overflown
- C.
overflew
- D.
No improvement
Attempted by 25 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Correct answer: has overflowed
Explanation —
Why "has overflowed" is correct: "overflow" (when referring to liquids) takes the past participle "overflowed" in standard usage. The present perfect "has overflowed" correctly indicates that the river has flowed over its banks and the effect is relevant now.
Why "overflown" is inappropriate here: "overflown" is normally associated with "overfly" (to fly over) and is not used to describe liquids spilling over. Using "overflown" in the original sentence causes a semantic mismatch.
Why the other choices are wrong: "had overflown" is past perfect and would require another past reference; "overflew" is the simple past of "overfly" and refers to flying over, not overflowing; "No improvement" would keep the incorrect "overflown."
Therefore, "has overflowed" is the appropriate and grammatically correct choice.