Tense
TOPICS â–¾
Active - Passive Voice
Adjective
Antonyms
Arrangement of Sentences
Articles
Conjunctions
Determiner
Direct & Indirect Speech
Glossary of Official and Technical Terms
idiom or phrase
Letter Writing
Misspelt Word
One Word Substitution
Prefixes and Suffixes
Preposition
Synonyms
Tense
Translation
Verb
SORT BY â–¾
21. The news ______ not as bad as we expected.
Answer: 'News' is an uncountable noun and is always treated as singular, so it takes a singular verb.
22. By the end of his vacation, he ______ over ten books.
Answer: The phrase 'By the end of...' indicates an action that will be completed by a certain future time, which requires the future perfect tense.
23. She ______ English for five years before she moved to England.
Answer: This sentence describes an action that was in progress for a period of time before another action took place in the past. The past perfect continuous is used to show this duration.
24. The concert ______ at 7 PM, so we have plenty of time.
Answer: The simple present tense is used for scheduled events or timetables in the future.
25. It's high time you ______ your homework.
Answer: The phrase 'It's high time' or 'It's time' is followed by a subject and a verb in the simple past tense to indicate that something should have been done already.
26. He was very tired because he ______ all day.
Answer: The reason for his tiredness (a past state) was a continuous action that had been happening before that point. The past perfect continuous tense is used to express this cause and effect.
27. I ______ to visit my grandmother last week.
Answer: The phrase 'last week' indicates a specific time in the past, so the simple past tense is the correct choice.
28. Look at those dark clouds. It ______ rain.
Answer: 'Is going to' is used for predictions based on present evidence (the dark clouds).
29. This paper ______ twice weekly.
Answer: The phrase 'twice weekly' describes a regular, repeated action, which requires the simple present tense.
30. Shakespeare ______ many famous plays.
Answer: Shakespeare is no longer alive, so his actions are confined to a finished period in the past. Therefore, the simple past tense is used.
31. I was watching TV when she ______ in.
Answer: A short, completed action (she came in) interrupted a longer, ongoing past action (I was watching TV). The simple past is used for the interrupting action.
32. He behaves as if he ______ the king.
Answer: The subjunctive mood is used after 'as if' to talk about an unreal or hypothetical situation. 'Were' is used for all subjects.
33. By the time I am 50, I ______ the world.
Answer: This describes an action that will be completed before a specific point in the future ('by the time I am 50'). The future perfect tense is appropriate.
34. She is not here. She ______ out.
Answer: The action of going out happened in the past, but the result (she is not here) is in the present. The present perfect tense connects a past action to the present.
35. The patient ______ before the doctor arrived.
Answer: The patient's death occurred before the doctor's arrival. The past perfect tense is used for the earlier of two past actions.
36. We ______ for his call since 5 PM.
Answer: 'Since 5 PM' indicates an action that started in the past and continues up to the present moment, requiring the present perfect continuous tense.
37. If I had known, I ______ you.
Answer: This is a third conditional sentence, used for unreal past conditions. The structure is 'If + past perfect, would have + past participle'.
38. The headmaster ______ to speak to you.
Answer: 'Want' is a stative verb and is not typically used in the continuous tense. The subject 'The headmaster' is singular, so the verb takes an '-s'.
39. I ______ a strange dream last night.
Answer: The time expression 'last night' points to a specific, completed time in the past, requiring the simple past tense.
40. Don't get off the bus until it ______.
Answer: In future time clauses with conjunctions like 'until', 'when', 'after', etc., we use the simple present tense, not the future tense.