Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1By the time the mediator finally appeared, the two teams ............... waiting in separate rooms for almost an hour.
Wrong!
Use "had been" for an action already in progress before another past event, especially with a duration such as 'for almost an hour'.
2By the time the auditors arrive next Monday, the finance team ............... the figures twice.
Wrong!
Use "will have revised" for an action expected to be completed before a future deadline, here 'by the time the auditors arrive'.
3So far this quarter, the ethics committee ............... three proposals on data-privacy grounds.
Wrong!
Use "has rejected" with an unfinished time period such as 'so far this quarter'.
4During the inquiry, the spokesperson admitted that the company ............... an independent safety audit before the accident.
Wrong!
Use "had never conducted" for an experience that was absent before a later past event, here the spokesperson's admission.
5When the new campus opens in 2028, Dr Patel ............... running the scholarship programme for fifteen years by then.
Wrong!
Use "will have been" with an -ing verb to express duration up to a future point, as in 'for fifteen years by then'.
6The review board ............... every appeal last year before it changed the submission rules.
Wrong!
Use "considered" because the time frame is a finished past period, 'last year', not a time before another past reference point.
7The publisher ............... with several libraries since April, so the licensing terms are still unsettled.
Wrong!
Use "has been negotiating" for an activity that began in the past and continues to the present, especially with 'since'.
8The negotiators ............... the final clause when the fire alarm forced everyone out of the building.
Wrong!
Use "were drafting" for a longer past action in progress when a shorter past event interrupted it.
9Several coastal districts ............... as high-risk zones over the past decade, which has altered insurance premiums.
Wrong!
Use "have been reclassified" for changes that occurred over a period continuing up to the present.
10Had the grant been withdrawn at that stage, the entire research programme ............... within months.
Wrong!
Use "would have collapsed" for the imagined result of an unreal past condition introduced by 'Had the grant been withdrawn'.
11The analysts look exhausted because they ............... nearly every night for weeks to trace the source of the error.
Wrong!
Use "have been working" to emphasize an ongoing or recently continuing activity that explains the present result, here exhaustion.
12By the end of the month, the new encryption system ............... on every device in the network.
Wrong!
Use "will have been installed" to show that the installation will be complete before the stated future deadline.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- By the time the mediator finally appeared, the two teams had been waiting in separate rooms for almost an hour.
- By the time the auditors arrive next Monday, the finance team will have revised the figures twice.
- So far this quarter, the ethics committee has rejected three proposals on data-privacy grounds.
- During the inquiry, the spokesperson admitted that the company had never conducted an independent safety audit before the accident.
- When the new campus opens in 2028, Dr Patel will have been running the scholarship programme for fifteen years by then.
- The review board considered every appeal last year before it changed the submission rules.
- The publisher has been negotiating with several libraries since April, so the licensing terms are still unsettled.
- The negotiators were drafting the final clause when the fire alarm forced everyone out of the building.
- Several coastal districts have been reclassified as high-risk zones over the past decade, which has altered insurance premiums.
- Had the grant been withdrawn at that stage, the entire research programme would have collapsed within months.
- The analysts look exhausted because they have been working nearly every night for weeks to trace the source of the error.
- By the end of the month, the new encryption system will have been installed on every device in the network.