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Tense

Tense
1. She ______ to the gym every day.
  • B. is going
  • A. goes
  • D. has gone
  • C. went
Answer: The sentence describes a habitual action or a daily routine. The simple present tense is used for such actions.
2. Listen! Someone ______ the piano.
  • A. plays
  • B. is playing
  • D. played
  • C. has played
Answer: The word 'Listen!' indicates an action happening at the moment of speaking, which requires the present continuous tense.
3. I ______ my homework just now.
  • D. had finished
  • A. have finished
  • B. finished
  • C. am finishing
Answer: The phrase 'just now' indicates a recently completed action with relevance to the present, for which the present perfect tense is used.
4. He ______ in this company since 2015.
  • B. has been working
  • D. worked
  • A. is working
  • C. was working
Answer: The use of 'since' indicates an action that started in the past and is still continuing in the present. This requires the present perfect continuous tense.
5. The train ______ before we reached the station.
  • C. had left
  • D. was leaving
  • A. left
  • B. has left
Answer: When two actions happened in the past, the action that occurred earlier is expressed in the past perfect tense. The train's departure happened before their arrival.
6. Yesterday, I ______ a new car.
  • D. had bought
  • B. have bought
  • C. bought
  • A. buy
Answer: The word 'yesterday' specifies a completed action at a definite time in the past, which requires the simple past tense.
7. While the children ______ in the park, it started to rain.
  • C. had played
  • D. have been playing
  • B. played
  • A. were playing
Answer: This sentence describes a longer, ongoing action in the past (playing) that was interrupted by a shorter action (started to rain). The past continuous tense is used for the ongoing action.
8. By this time tomorrow, I ______ my exams.
  • C. will have finished
  • A. will finish
  • B. will be finishing
  • D. finish
Answer: The phrase 'by this time tomorrow' indicates an action that will be completed before a specific point in the future. The future perfect tense is used for this.
9. I think it ______ tomorrow.
  • B. is raining
  • C. rains
  • D. has rained
  • A. will rain
Answer: This is a prediction about a future event based on an opinion ('I think'). The simple future tense is appropriate here.
10. At 8 PM tonight, she ______ her favorite show.
  • D. watches
  • C. has watched
  • B. will be watching
  • A. will watch
Answer: This describes an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future, which requires the future continuous tense.
11. If you study hard, you ______ the exam.
  • C. pass
  • A. will pass
  • D. passed
  • B. would pass
Answer: This is a first conditional sentence, which expresses a real possibility in the future. The structure is 'If + simple present, simple future'.
12. The earth ______ around the sun.
  • C. is moving
  • B. moves
  • D. has moved
  • A. move
Answer: This sentence states a universal truth or a scientific fact, for which the simple present tense is used.
13. He ______ his leg while he was playing football.
  • A. was breaking
  • B. broke
  • C. had broken
  • D. has broken
Answer: A short, completed action (broke his leg) happened during a longer past action (was playing). The simple past is used for the shorter action.
14. She said that she ______ a new dress.
  • A. has bought
  • C. buys
  • B. had bought
  • D. will buy
Answer: In reported speech, if the reporting verb is in the past tense ('said'), the present perfect in the direct speech ('I have bought...') changes to the past perfect.
15. The quality of these apples ______ not good.
  • A. is
  • D. were
  • C. have been
  • B. are
Answer: The subject of the sentence is 'quality' (singular), not 'apples' (plural). Therefore, a singular verb 'is' should be used.
16. My father ______ the newspaper every morning.
  • C. reads
  • B. read
  • A. is reading
  • D. has read
Answer: The phrase 'every morning' indicates a habitual action, requiring the simple present tense.
17. They ______ here for three hours by the time the meeting ends.
  • B. will be waiting
  • D. have waited
  • C. will have been waiting
  • A. will wait
Answer: This sentence emphasizes the duration of an action up to a certain point in the future. The future perfect continuous tense is used for this.
18. When I arrived, the party ______ already started.
  • D. have
  • A. was
  • C. had
  • B. has
Answer: The party started before I arrived. To show an action that happened before another past action, the past perfect tense (had + past participle) is used.
19. I ______ him for a long time.
  • B. have known
  • D. am knowing
  • C. knew
  • A. know
Answer: Stative verbs like 'know' are generally not used in continuous tenses. To express a state that started in the past and continues to the present, the present perfect tense is used.
20. He wishes he ______ richer.
  • A. is
  • D. has been
  • C. were
  • B. was
Answer: In hypothetical or subjunctive clauses starting with 'wish', 'were' is used for all subjects (I, he, she, etc.) instead of 'was' to express an unreal situation.