This grammar exercise tests your ability to use tenses correctly. Fill in the blanks with an appropriate tense form. Choose your answers from the given options.
1We ............... the railway station before the train arrived.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
Both "had reached" and "reached" are acceptable because "before" clearly shows that reaching the station happened first.
2He ............... here.
Wrong!
Use "does not live" with the third-person singular subject "he" in the present simple negative.
3By next January, he ............... working in the film industry for twenty-five years.
Wrong!
Use "will have been" for an action that will continue up to a future point in time.
4Kumble ............... three wickets before rain interrupted the match.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
Both "took" and "had taken" are acceptable because "before" makes the order of the two past actions clear.
5I ............... him twice before he left for New York.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
Both "saw" and "had seen" are acceptable because "before" clearly places the meeting earlier than his departure.
6Edison ............... newspapers before he became a highly successful inventor.
Wrong!
Use "sold" for a completed past fact in Edison's life.
7When I was young, I usually ............... out every day.
Wrong!
Use "worked" for a regular habit in the past.
8We ............... for Singapore this evening.
Wrong!
Use "are leaving" for a fixed future arrangement.
9They ............... living in this city for twenty years.
Wrong!
Use "have been" with the present perfect continuous for a situation that started in the past and continues now.
10We ............... here for ten years now.
Wrong!
Use "have lived" for a situation that started in the past and continues up to now.
Answers
- We had reached / reached the railway station before the train arrived.
- He does not live here.
- By next January, he will have been working in the film industry for twenty-five years.
- Kumble took / had taken three wickets before rain interrupted the match.
- I saw / had seen him twice before he left for New York.
- Edison sold newspapers before he became a highly successful inventor.
- When I was young, I usually worked out every day.
- We are leaving for Singapore this evening.
- They have been living in this city for twenty years.
- We have lived here for ten years now.