Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one. Some sentences have two correct answers. Choose both.
1By the time the chair called for a vote, the committee ............... the proposal for three hours and everyone was visibly drained.
Wrong!
Use the past perfect progressive to show an activity continuing up to a past point in time.
2I ............... to email you all week, but every time I opened the draft, another crisis landed on my desk.
Wrong!
Use the past perfect to show an earlier intention that remained unfulfilled before another past event.
3She ............... the same argument since January, so the sudden change of stance yesterday felt calculated.
Wrong!
Use the present perfect progressive for an action continuing up to now with emphasis on duration.
4When I finally reached him, he ............... the news already, so my call came too late.
Wrong!
Use the past perfect to show something completed before another past moment.
5For months, the CEO ............... about transparency, yet the figures released today are still heavily redacted.
Wrong!
Use the present perfect progressive to emphasize an ongoing pattern up to now.
6I ............... the report twice this morning, so if the error is still there, it is not from lack of checking.
Wrong!
Use the present perfect for completed actions with present relevance in an unfinished time period.
7At exactly midnight, the system ............... for 47 minutes, which is why the logs show a gap.
Wrong!
Use the past perfect progressive to describe an ongoing state leading up to a past reference time.
8He ............... the contract when the lawyer interrupted, so the signature line was still blank.
Wrong!
Use the past progressive for an action in progress when another past event happened.
9Until the whistle blew, the crowd ............... the referee, and the players could barely hear each other.
Wrong!
Use the past progressive for a continuous background action up to a stopping point in the past.
10I ............... the same password for years, so the breach report did not exactly surprise me.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
Both the present perfect and present perfect progressive can describe a situation continuing up to now, with slightly different emphasis.
11By next Friday, we ............... the merger details to the board, so keep your calendar flexible.
Wrong!
Use the future perfect to show completion before a specified future deadline.
12Since the policy change, I ............... fewer meetings, which has freed up whole afternoons.
Wrong!
Use the present perfect to describe a change from the past up to now; the progressive is not natural with a specific number like "fewer meetings."
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- By the time the chair called for a vote, the committee had been debating the proposal for three hours and everyone was visibly drained.
- I had meant to email you all week, but every time I opened the draft, another crisis landed on my desk.
- She has been repeating the same argument since January, so the sudden change of stance yesterday felt calculated.
- When I finally reached him, he had heard the news already, so my call came too late.
- For months, the CEO has been talking about transparency, yet the figures released today are still heavily redacted.
- I have checked the report twice this morning, so if the error is still there, it is not from lack of checking.
- At exactly midnight, the system had been down for 47 minutes, which is why the logs show a gap.
- He was reading the contract when the lawyer interrupted, so the signature line was still blank.
- Until the whistle blew, the crowd was heckling the referee, and the players could barely hear each other.
- I have used/have been using the same password for years, so the breach report did not exactly surprise me.
- By next Friday, we will have presented the merger details to the board, so keep your calendar flexible.
- Since the policy change, I have attended fewer meetings, which has freed up whole afternoons.
