Many students find it difficult to conjugate verbs properly. However, it is not that difficult.
Time adverbs present in the sentence usually indicate the tense. And if you are familiar with different tense forms, you should have no difficulty writing meaningful sentences in English.
Here is a verb conjugation exercise to test your understanding of different verb forms.
Conjugate the verbs given in parentheses and make meaningful sentences.
1Maya ............... since morning.
Wrong!
Use the present perfect continuous "has been working" for an action that began in the past and continues up to now.
2I ............... in the garden when he arrived.
Wrong!
Use the past continuous "was working" for an action in progress when another past action happened.
3I ............... in the garage for three hours when John called.
Wrong!
Use the past perfect continuous "had been working" for an action that continued before another past event.
4I ............... my exam this time next week.
Wrong!
Use the future continuous "will be writing" for an action in progress at a specific future time.
5They had already left by the time I ............... home.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "reached" after "by the time" to show the later past reference point.
6"I'm hungry." "I ............... you something to eat."
Wrong!
Use "will get" for a spontaneous offer made at the moment of speaking.
7Merlin ............... lovely songs.
Wrong!
Use the third-person singular present simple "writes" with the subject "Merlin".
8We ............... often go to the cinema.
Wrong!
Use "don't" with the subject "we" to make a negative present simple sentence.
9I ............... to Philadelphia last week.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "went" with the finished past time expression "last week".
10The children ............... a splendid performance.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "delivered" to describe a completed past action.
Answers
- Maya has been working since morning.
- I was working in the garden when he arrived.
- I had been working in the garage for three hours when John called.
- I will be writing my exam this time next week.
- They had already left by the time I reached home.
- “I’m hungry.” “I will get you something to eat.”
- Merlin writes lovely songs.
- We don’t often go to the cinema.
- I went to Philadelphia last week.
- The children delivered a splendid performance.
