Fill in the blanks with the correct tense form (simple past, past perfect or past perfect continuous) of the verbs.
1By the time the firefighters arrived, the fire ............... many huts.
Wrong!
Use the past perfect "had destroyed" for the action completed before the firefighters arrived.
2He was not permitted to write the exam because he ............... his hall ticket.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
The past perfect "had not brought" shows that this happened before he was refused permission, but the past simple "did not bring" is also acceptable because the order of events is clear.
3Long before the chief guest arrived, the invitees ...............
Wrong!
Use the past perfect "had assembled" for the action completed before the chief guest arrived.
4I wish you ............... your application in time.
Wrong!
After "I wish" about a past regret, use "had sent".
5Before the police caught the thief, they ............... for him for two months.
Wrong!
Use "had been looking" to show a continuing action before the police caught the thief.
6If they ............... the Principal, he would have helped them.
Wrong!
In a third conditional if-clause, use "had met".
7I did not speak to him because I ............... to him formally.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
The past perfect "had not been introduced" stresses that no introduction had happened before the time of speaking, but the past simple "was not introduced" is also acceptable here.
8By the time we reached the station, the train ...............
Wrong!
Use "had left" for the action completed before we reached the station.
9If Balu ............... the secretary earlier, he would have given him a job.
Wrong!
In a third conditional if-clause, use "had seen".
10If Raju were in our team, we ...............
Wrong!
In this second conditional sentence, use "would win" for the imagined result.
Exercise complete
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correct answers
Answers
- By the time the firefighters arrived, the fire had destroyed many huts.
- He was not permitted to write the exam because he did not bring / had not brought his hall ticket.
- Long before the chief guest arrived, the invitees had assembled.
- I wish you had sent your application in time.
- Before the police caught the thief, they had been looking for him for two months.
- If they had met the Principal, he would have helped them.
- I did not speak to him because I was not introduced / had not been introduced to him formally.
- By the time we reached the station, the train had left.
- If Balu had seen the secretary earlier, he would have given him a job.
- If Raju were in our team, we would win.