Gap Filling Tenses Exercise

Fill in the blanks.

1. He ……………………………………. absent since Monday.

was

has been

Correct! Wrong!

Use the present perfect to talk about an action or situation that started in the past and has continued up to the present.

2. Suddenly I realized that we ……………………………….. before.

met

have met

had met

Correct! Wrong!

The past perfect is used to talk about the earlier of the two past actions.

3. I ………………………………… my homework before I went out to play.

Please select 2 correct answers

finished

have finished

had finished

Correct! Wrong!

Either the simple past or the past perfect is possible here.

4. She said that she ………………………………… the letter.

posted

has posted

had posted

Correct! Wrong!

A present perfect in the direct speech becomes past perfect in the indirect speech.

5. The train …………………………………. before we reached the station.

was left

has left

had left

Correct! Wrong!

The past perfect is used for the earlier of the two past actions.

6. He ………………………………. the watch shortly after he …………………………….. it.

lost, had bought

had lost, bought

had lost, had bought

Correct! Wrong!

7. When I reached his house, I found that he ………………………………..

has already gone

had already gone

is already gone

Correct! Wrong!

8. He started shouting before I …………………………… a word.

Please select 2 correct answers

said

had said

have said

Correct! Wrong!

Either the simple past or past perfect can be used here

9. She ……………………………… as a nurse for well over three decades.

is working

has been working

was working

Correct! Wrong!

10. He ……………………………….. at the gate for a long time.

is waiting

was waiting

has been waiting

Correct! Wrong!

11. It ………………………………….. 40 minutes by train.

is taking

takes

was taking

Correct! Wrong!

We use the simple present tense to talk about facts.

12. I cannot let ……………………………… of him.

to go

going

Correct! Wrong!

Let is followed by an infinitive without to.

Answers

He has been absent since Monday.
Suddenly I realized that we had met before.
I finished / had finished my homework before I went out to play.
She said that she had posted the letter.
The train had left before we reached the station.
He lost the watch shortly after he had bought it.
When I reached his house, I found that he had already gone.
He started shouting before I had said a word.
She has been working as a nurse for well over three decades.
He has been working at the gate for a long time.
It takes 40 minutes by train.
I cannot let go of him.