Select the option that will improve the highlighted part of the given sentence.
Not all moisturisers are actually good at reducing the moisture loss from Mohan’s skin. He still might experience dryness and itchiness as his skin recovers if he had been having a lot of really hot showers and baths.

Correct option is A

The correct option is (a).

The sentence talks about a present possibility: Mohan “still might experience dryness and itchiness” while his skin is recovering. Therefore, the clause should use a present-time framework with correct conditional and tense consistency. The phrase “as his skin recovers” is in the present, so the condition should not shift unnecessarily to a past perfect continuous form like “had been having,” which indicates an action completed before a past reference point.

Option (a) uses present perfect continuous “has been having” to show an action that started in the past and may be continuing up to the present (hot showers and baths). This tense logically supports the idea that continuing the habit can still cause dryness even during recovery.

Grammatical rule used: When the main idea is in present/future possibility (might + verb), the conditional clause should maintain logical tense sequence. Present perfect continuous (has/have been + V1 + ing) is used for an action continuing from past to present.

Example of the rule: He may feel tired if he has been working late every night.

Why other options are incorrect:

• (b) “had recovered” shifts to past perfect without any past reference point; it breaks time consistency.
• (c) “as his skin recovered” changes the meaning to a past situation, but the sentence is about current possibility.
• (d) “would have been having” is an illogical conditional form here and suggests an unreal past condition, which does not fit.