Fill in the blanks.
1I ............... to the boss about my holidays, and she has agreed.
Wrong!
Use the present perfect "have spoken" for a past action with a present result.
2He ............... out of school at fourteen.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "dropped" for a completed action at a definite age in the past.
3The train ............... ten minutes ago.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "left" with the finished-time expression "ten minutes ago".
4He ............... in Dubai for 12 years.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
Both "has worked" and "has been working" can describe an action that began in the past and continues now.
5I ............... him since we met last Sunday.
Wrong!
Use the present perfect negative "have not seen" with "since" to connect the past time to now.
6The boys ............... cricket every evening.
Wrong!
Use the simple present "practice" for a regular habit.
7I was ............... to wait.
Wrong!
"Tell" takes a personal object, so the passive "I was told to wait" is correct; "say" and "explain" cannot be used in this pattern.
8The ship ............... following the explosion.
Wrong!
A ship goes under water, so the correct verb is "sank".
9Neither of the messengers ............... returned.
Wrong!
Use the singular auxiliary "has" with "neither" when it refers to each of two people separately.
10After several attempts, he ............... able to pass the examination.
Wrong!
Use "was" before "able to" for a successful action on a particular past occasion.
11The quality of the apples supplied to us ............... not good.
Wrong!
The singular subject "quality" takes the singular past verb "was".
12More than 6,000 miles ............... India from Europe.
Wrong!
A distance is treated as one amount here, so the singular verb "separates" is correct.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- I have spoken to the boss about my holidays, and she has agreed.
- He dropped out of school at fourteen.
- The train left ten minutes ago.
- He has worked / has been working in Dubai for 12 years.
- I have not seen him since we met last Sunday.
- The boys practice cricket every evening.
- I was told to wait.
- The ship sank following the explosion.
- Neither of the messengers has returned.
- After several attempts, he was able to pass the examination.
- The quality of the apples supplied to us was not good.
- More than 6,000 miles separates India from Europe.