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Tenses exercise

December 26, 2014 - pdf

Complete the following sentences using an appropriate verb form that expresses the idea indicated in the brackets.

1. Our mother …………… up at 5.30 in the morning. (habitual action)

will get
gets
will be getting

2. Worldly pleasures …………….. temporary. (general truth)

are
will be
were

3. Portia …………….. that mercy is a divine quality. (quoted from a source)

said
says
has said

4. My father …………….. ready. He …………….. here in a minute. (present continuous and the future)

is getting, will be
will get, will be
is getting, is
gets, will be

5. They ……………. for the dance performance. (action in progress)

will rehearse
are rehearsing
will be rehearsing

6. Not many of us ………………… Mahatma Gandhi. (present perfect)

has seen
have seen
had seen
will see

7. He ……………. for Germany last month. (completed action)

had left
left
has left
would leave

8. When we were young, we …………….. the whole afternoon playing. (habitual action)

will spend
would spend
would have spent
would be spending

9. The students …………….. for the test. (past action that has continued up to the present)

are preparing
have been preparing
will be preparing

10. When I …………….. my eyes, I ………………. a strange sight. (two actions in the past)

had opened, saw
opened, saw
opened, had seen

Answers

1. Our mother gets up at 5.30 in the morning.

2. Worldly pleasures are temporary.

3. Portia says that mercy is a divine quality.

4. My father is getting ready. He will be here in a minute.

5. They are rehearsing for the dance performance.

6. Not many of us have seen Mahatma Gandhi.

7. He left for Germany last month.

8. When we were young, we would spend the whole afternoon playing.

9. The students have been preparing for the test.

10. When I opened my eyes, I saw a strange sight.

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