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
61. This is the first time I ______ such a delicious meal.
Answer: The phrase 'This is the first time' is followed by the present perfect tense to describe an experience.
62. If you ______ me, I would have helped you.
Answer: This is the 'if' clause of a third conditional sentence, which refers to an unreal past condition. The structure requires the past perfect tense.
63. The two brothers ______ with each other for years.
Answer: The phrase 'for years' indicates the duration of an action that started in the past and continues to the present, requiring the present perfect continuous tense.
64. Look! The bus ______.
Answer: The word 'Look!' directs attention to something happening at the moment of speaking, which is expressed using the present continuous tense.
65. Bread and butter ______ his only food.
Answer: When two subjects are joined by 'and' but represent a single idea or unit (like 'bread and butter' for a meal), a singular verb is used.
66. I ______ my keys. I cannot find them anywhere.
Answer: The action of losing the keys happened in the past, but the result (not being able to find them) is in the present. The present perfect connects the past action to the present result.
67. When he was younger, he ______ swim very well.
Answer: 'Could' is the past tense of 'can' and is used to describe an ability that existed in the past.
68. He ______ to the radio when his wife came home.
Answer: The action of listening was in progress (a longer action) when another event (his wife came home, a shorter action) occurred. The past continuous is used for the longer background action.
69. The Chief Minister ______ the new bridge tomorrow.
Answer: For official plans or announcements about the future, the simple future tense is commonly used. 'Is inaugurating' could also be correct for a fixed plan, but 'will inaugurate' is a standard choice for formal announcements.
70. He told me that he ______ the movie.
Answer: In indirect speech, when the reporting verb is in the past ('told'), the present perfect ('have seen') in direct speech changes to the past perfect ('had seen').
71. The children ______ in the garden when their father came back from work.
Answer: This describes an ongoing action in the past ('playing') that was in progress when another action ('father came back') happened. Past continuous is used for the ongoing action.
72. I am sure I ______ him at the party last night.
Answer: The specific past time marker 'last night' requires the use of the simple past tense.
73. This is the best book I ______.
Answer: Superlatives (like 'the best') are often followed by the present perfect tense to talk about experiences up to the present.
74. What ______ you do if you saw a snake?
Answer: This is a second conditional sentence, used for hypothetical or unlikely situations. The structure is 'If + simple past, would + base verb'.
75. The English ______ English.
Answer: When 'The' is used with a nationality like 'English', it refers to the people of that country collectively and is treated as a plural subject, taking a plural verb.
76. The ship ______ before the rescue team arrived.
Answer: The sinking of the ship happened before the arrival of the rescue team. The past perfect tense is used for the earlier of two past actions.
77. We ______ our dinner by the time they arrive.
Answer: 'By the time they arrive' sets a future point in time. An action completed before that future point is expressed in the future perfect tense.
78. He often ______ late for his meetings.
Answer: The adverb 'often' indicates a habitual action, so the simple present tense is used.
79. I ______ here since morning but haven't seen him.
Answer: The use of 'since morning' indicates an action that started in the past and is still ongoing. This requires the present perfect continuous tense.
80. Hardly had the sun risen ______ the fog disappeared.
Answer: The correlative conjunction 'Hardly...when' is used to connect two past actions that happened in quick succession. The structure is 'Hardly had + subject + V3... when + subject + V2'.