Fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb form.
1. Sam ............................ before I reached his place.
We use the past perfect to show that an action had completed before another action commenced.
2. She no longer .............................. here.
We use the simple present tense to talk about permanent situations.
3. I .................................. in Mumbai for twenty years by next January.
We use the future perfect and future perfect continuous tenses to say that something will be completed or finished by a certain time.
4. I .............................. my homework before I went to play.
We normally use the past perfect to show that an action had completed before another action commenced. However, the simple past is also possible here because the same idea can be expressed using the time conjunctions before and after.
5. I .................................. him twice before he went to Amsterdam.
We use the past perfect to show that an action had completed before another action commenced.
6. Before he became a famous inventor, Edison ................................ newspapers to earn a living.
The simple past is used to talk about finished actions and situations in the past.
7. When I was young, I ................................ out every day.
The simple past is used to talk about finished actions and situations in the past.
8. We ............................. for Singapore this evening.
We use the present continuous to talk about pre-planned future events.
9. If you pour oil on water, it ....................................
In the zero conditional, we use a simple present tense in both clauses.
10. We ..................................... in Mumbai for 15 years.
We use the present perfect or present perfect continuous tense to talk about actions or situations that started in the past and has continued up to the present.
11. Did you ............................... him yesterday?
We use the first form of the verb after do, does and did.
12. He might .............................. our offer.
After the modals we use the infinitive without to.
Answers
1. Sam had left before I reached his place.
2. She no longer lives here.
3. I will have lived / will have been living in Mumbai for twenty years by next January.
4. I did / had done my homework before I went to play.
5. I had met him twice before he went to Amsterdam.
6. Before he became a famous inventor, Edison sold newspapers to earn a living.
7. When I was young, I worked out every day.
8. We are leaving for Singapore this evening.
9. If you pour oil on water, it floats.
10. We have been living in Mumbai for 15 years.
11. Did you see him yesterday?
12. He might reject our offer.
