Verb Tenses

Which sentence is in the past tense?

• AShe walked to school.✓
• BShe walks to school.
• CShe is walking to school.
• DShe will walk to school.

Answer: 'Walked' is the past tense of 'walk'. It shows an action that already happened.

Choose the correct present tense form: 'He _____ every day.'

• Aran
• Bruns✓
• Chas run
• Dwill run

Answer: 'Runs' is the present simple tense. It shows an action that happens regularly.

Which words complete the sentence so that it refers to future time? 'I _____ my homework tomorrow.'

• Afinished
• Bwas finishing
• Cwill finish✓
• Dhad finished

Answer: 'Will finish' uses the modal verb 'will' to point to future time. English has no separate future tense form of the verb, so a modal verb such as 'will' does the job.

Which sentence uses the present progressive tense correctly?

• AShe is studying for her exam.✓
• BShe will study for her exam.
• CShe studied for her exam.
• DShe was studying for exams.

Answer: 'Is studying' is present progressive, showing an action happening right now.

Choose the correct past progressive: 'When I arrived, she _____ dinner.'

• Awill be cooking
• Bhas been cooking
• Cwas cooking✓
• Dis going to cook

Answer: 'Was cooking' is past progressive. It shows an action in progress at a specific moment in the past.

Which sentence uses the present perfect tense?

• AI was eating breakfast earlier.
• BI am eating breakfast now.
• CI will eat breakfast later.
• DI have eaten breakfast.✓

Answer: 'Have eaten' is present perfect. It shows an action that started in the past and continues to be relevant now.

Which verb form is used in: 'By next week, I will have finished the project.'?

• AThe simple past form
• BThe present progressive form
• CThe past progressive form
• DA modal verb with the perfect form✓

Answer: 'Will have finished' joins the modal verb 'will' to the perfect form (have + the past participle 'finished'). It shows the project will be complete by a time in the future.

Choose the correct form: 'She _____ to school every morning.'

• Awent
• Bwill go
• Cis going
• Dgoes✓

Answer: 'Goes' is present simple. It describes a regular daily action.

Which sentence shows past perfect tense?

• AShe ate the cake.
• BShe had eaten the cake before I arrived.✓
• CShe was eating the cake at the party.
• DShe will eat the cake tomorrow.

Answer: 'Had eaten' is past perfect. It shows an action completed before another past action.

Identify the tense: 'The children are playing in the park.'

• APresent simple
• BPast progressive
• CPresent progressive✓
• DFuture progressive

Answer: 'Are playing' is present progressive. It shows an action happening now.

Fill in the correct tense: 'If I had known, I _____ told you.'

• Aam telling
• Bwould have told✓
• Cwould tell
• Dwill tell

Answer: 'Would have told' puts the modal verb 'would' with the perfect form (have + told). It describes something that could have happened in the past but did not, because the speaker did not know.

Choose the form that shows an action that began in the past and is still going on now: 'I _____ living here for five years.'

• Ahad been
• Bused to be
• Chave been✓
• Dwill have been

Answer: 'Have been living' joins the present perfect to the progressive form. It shows an action that began in the past and is still going on now.

Which verb form is 'will be playing' in: 'Tomorrow at this time, we will be playing football.'?

• AThe present perfect form
• BThe past progressive form
• CA modal verb with the progressive form✓
• DThe simple past form

Answer: 'Will be playing' joins the modal verb 'will' to the progressive form (be + playing). It shows an action that will be in progress at a time in the future.

Which sentence uses a modal verb to show that something is possible but not certain?

• AWe went to the beach on Saturday.
• BWe are going to the beach on Saturday.
• CWe go to the beach every Saturday.
• DWe might go to the beach on Saturday.✓

Answer: 'Might' is a modal verb that shows possibility: the trip may or may not happen. Modal verbs such as might, could, should and will show how likely something is.

Which tense is correct? 'She _____ the letter when the telephone rang.'

• Awas reading✓
• Breads
• Chas read
• Dwill read

Answer: 'Was reading' is past progressive. It describes an action in progress when another past action (telephone rang) occurred.

Which sentence uses the simple past tense?

• AI am playing football
• BI played football yesterday✓
• CI play football
• DI will play football tomorrow

Answer: The simple past describes a completed action. 'I played football yesterday' shows a finished action in the past. The others use the present progressive, the simple present and the modal verb 'will'.

Which sentence uses the present perfect tense?

• AI am eating my lunch right now
• BI have eaten my lunch✓
• CI ate my lunch an hour ago
• DI eat my lunch at half past twelve

Answer: The present perfect tense uses 'have/has' + past participle and shows an action that happened in the past but connects to the present. 'I have eaten my lunch' means I finished eating and might still be full.

Which sentence uses the present progressive form?

• AI have gone to school
• BI am walking to school✓
• CI walked to school
• DI walk to school

Answer: The present progressive uses am, is or are with the -ing form of the verb, and shows an action happening now. 'I am walking to school' means I am on my way at this moment.

Which sentence uses the past progressive form?

• AI have been playing tennis since early this morning
• BI played tennis with my cousin yesterday afternoon
• CAfter school on Friday, I will play tennis
• DI was playing tennis when it rained✓

Answer: The past progressive uses was or were with the -ing form of the verb, and shows an action that was in progress in the past. 'I was playing tennis when it rained' shows the game was going on when the rain started.

Complete the sentence: 'By next year, I _____ English for six years.'

• Awill study
• Bwill have studied✓
• Cstudy
• Dhave studied

Answer: 'Will have studied' joins the modal verb 'will' to the perfect form (have + the past participle). 'By next year' points to a future time by which the six years will be complete.

Which sentence uses the past perfect tense?

• AI have finished my homework and my spelling test
• BI am finishing my homework at the kitchen table
• CI finished my homework straight after school today
• DI had finished my homework before dinner✓

Answer: The past perfect tense uses 'had' + past participle and shows an action completed before another past action. 'I had finished my homework before dinner' means finishing came first, then dinner.

Which sentence uses a modal verb to talk about the future?

• AI am going to the shop tomorrow
• BI will go to the shop tomorrow✓
• CI have been to the shop today
• DI went to the shop yesterday

Answer: 'Will' is a modal verb, and with 'go' it points to future time. 'Am going to' also talks about the future, but it uses the verb 'be', which is not a modal verb.

Which sentence describes something imagined or unlikely, rather than something the speaker expects to happen?

• AIf I study, I am going to pass
• BIf I study, I will pass
• CIf I revise, I pass
• DIf I studied, I would pass✓

Answer: 'If I studied, I would pass' imagines something that probably will not happen: it pairs the past-tense 'studied' with the modal verb 'would'. The others use 'will' or 'am going to' for an outcome the speaker thinks is likely.

What is wrong with this sentence? 'Yesterday, I will go to the park.'

• AIt should be 'I go to the park'
• BIt should be 'I am going to the park'
• CNothing, it's correct
• DIt should be 'I went to the park'✓

Answer: 'Yesterday' is a past time word, so the verb must be in the past tense: 'I went to the park'. The modal verb 'will' points to future time, so it cannot go with 'yesterday'.

Complete: 'If the weather _____ nice tomorrow, we will go to the beach.'

• Awill be
• Bwas
• Cwere
• Dis✓

Answer: After 'if', we use the present tense even when we are talking about the future: 'If the weather is nice tomorrow'. The main clause then uses the modal verb 'will'.

Which sentence joins the perfect form and the progressive form of the verb?

• AI have played tennis on that court many times
• BI have been playing tennis for three hours✓
• CWhen the rain came down, I was playing tennis
• DI am playing tennis with my friend this evening

Answer: 'Have been playing' joins the perfect (have been) to the progressive (-ing). It shows an action that started in the past and is still going on.

Which verb form is 'had left' in: 'The bus had left before we reached the stop.'?

• AThe present perfect form
• BThe past perfect form✓
• CThe past progressive form
• DThe simple past form

Answer: 'Had left' is the past perfect form (had + the past participle 'left'). It shows the bus left before another past event: us reaching the stop.

Which sentence uses simple present tense?

• AThe cat sleeps on the mat✓
• BThe cat is sleeping on the mat
• CThe cat was sleeping on the mat
• DThe cat has slept on the mat

Answer: The simple present 'sleeps' describes a regular habit or something that is generally true. The others use the present progressive, the past progressive and the present perfect.

Which words make up the infinitive with 'to' in this sentence? 'I want to run in the race.'

• Arun
• Bto run✓
• Cwant
• DI want to

Answer: The infinitive is the basic form of a verb, like 'run'. It is often used after 'to', so 'to run' is the infinitive with 'to'. It shows the action without any tense.

Which verb is a participle?

• Arunning (in 'The dog was running home')✓
• Bwill run (in 'I will run home')
• Crun (in 'They run home from school')
• Dlikes (in 'She likes strawberries')

Answer: A participle is a verb form used as part of a verb phrase or as an adjective. In 'The dog was running home', 'running' is a present participle following 'was'. 'Will run' and 'run' are simple verb forms, and 'likes' is a simple present verb.