Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1By the time we arrived, they ............... already left.
Wrong!
Use "had" because the leaving happened before another past action.
2It ............... when we left the house.
Wrong!
Use "was raining" for an action in progress at a specific past time.
3I ............... three times this month.
Wrong!
Use "have visited" with the unfinished time period "this month."
4They ............... for over an hour before the bus arrived.
Wrong!
Use "had been waiting" to show an action continuing up to a later past event.
5She ............... her phone yesterday.
Wrong!
Use "broke" with the finished past time "yesterday."
6I ............... snow until I visited Iceland in 2022.
Wrong!
Use "had never seen" for an experience before a later past event.
7The children ............... in the garden when it started to rain.
Wrong!
Use "were playing" for an action in progress when another past action happened.
8She ............... the report before the meeting started.
Wrong!
Use "had finished" because the report was completed before the meeting started.
9We ............... here since 2018.
Wrong!
Use "have lived" for a situation that began in the past and continues now.
10He ............... home when the accident happened.
Wrong!
Use "was driving" for the background action in progress when the accident happened.
11She ............... for two hours before the exam began.
Wrong!
Use "had been studying" to show duration before a later past event.
12I ............... dinner last night.
Wrong!
Use "didn't eat" with the finished past time "last night."
Answers
- By the time we arrived, they had already left.
- It was raining when we left the house.
- I have visited three times this month.
- They had been waiting for over an hour before the bus arrived.
- She broke her phone yesterday.
- I had never seen snow until I visited Iceland in 2022.
- The children were playing in the garden when it started to rain.
- She had finished the report before the meeting started.
- We have lived here since 2018.
- He was driving home when the accident happened.
- She had been studying for two hours before the exam began.
- I didn’t eat dinner last night.
