Fill in the blanks with a suitable tense form.
1. He .................. all his childhood in a quaint village in China.
We use the simple past tense to talk about finished longer situations in the past.
2. I ...................... all day yesterday.
We use the past continuous tense to stress that an activity was in progress at every moment during a period of time.
3. Mozart died while he ..................... the Requiem.
The past continuous is often used with the simple past tense. In this case, the past continuous usually refers to a longer background action.
4. I ..................... the cleaning. What shall I do now?
We use perfect tenses to indicate completion.
5. I ................... in India for ten years when I was a child.
We use the simple past to talk about longer situations in the past.
6. I can’t play tomorrow because I ................. my leg.
We use the present perfect tense to say that a finished action is connected with the present in some way.
7. My puppy ....................
My puppy is dead now. We use the present perfect tense to say that a finished action is connected with the present in some way.
8. I ................... a lot in Asia and Africa.
The present perfect tense is often used to express the idea of completion or achievement.
9. Once upon a time there .................... a beautiful princess.
The present perfect tense is not used in story-telling.
10. He .................... hard for years.
The present perfect is commonly used with the time expressions since and for.
11. ....................... Romeo and Juliet on TV last night?
We cannot use the present perfect tense with time expressions referring to the past.
12. My late grandfather ................. a lot for me.
We do not use the present perfect when we are thinking of a particular finished time, even if we do not mention it. Grandfather is no longer alive, so obviously the reference is to the past.
Answers
1. He spent all his childhood in a quaint village in China.
2. I was reading all day yesterday.
3. Mozart died while he was composing the Requiem.
4. I have done the cleaning. What shall I do now?
5. I lived in India for ten years when I was a child.
6. I can’t play tomorrow because I have broken my leg.
7. My puppy has died.
8. I have traveled a lot in Asia and Africa.
9. Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess.
10. He has worked hard for years.
11. Did you see Romeo and Juliet on TV last night?
12. My late grandfather did a lot for me.
