This set of English Grammar Exercises (MCQs) focuses on “Verb Tenses”.
1. Fill in the blank with the appropriate form of the verb given in brackets.
Prakash ____________ Ooty in 2010 and 2015. (visit)
a) visit
b) had been visiting
c) had visited
d) visited
View Answer
Explanation: The blank requires the verb to be in Simple Past tense as it refers to an action in the past that is completed. Therefore, the suitable answer is ‘visited’.
2. Identify the tense of the verb used in the below sentence.
Karthi has been playing cricket since afternoon.
a) Present Perfect
b) Past Perfect
c) Present Continuous
d) Present Perfect Continuous
View Answer
Explanation: The sentence indicates that the action began some time in the past and is still continuing. In such cases, the tense will be Present Perfect Continuous.
3. Which of the following sentences uses the correct form of verb?
a) The servant has been digging the garden all morning
b) The passenger had been jumping off the bus
c) When my mother was calling me, I was working on my report
d) We planned to go to Goa, but decided to cancel it seeing the schedule of exams
View Answer
Explanation: The correct form of other sentences would be ‘The servant was digging the garden all morning’, ‘The passenger jumped off the bus’ and ‘When my mother called me, I was working on my report’.
4. To express general truths, the verb is used in the Simple Present Tense.
a) True
b) False
View Answer
Explanation: For expressing general truths like ‘Sun rises in the east’, the verb (rise) is used in Simple Present tense (rises).
5. Identify the right option to fill in the blank.
I ________ the magazine when you showed up at the door.
a) read
b) have been reading
c) was reading
d) had been reading
View Answer
Explanation: The action of reading the newspaper was going on for some time in the past. Thus the verb should be in the Past Continuous tense. Thus ‘was reading’ will be suitable for the blank.
6. In the below sentence the tense of the verb is ___________
From my predictions, I think it will be raining when the match starts.
a) Future Perfect
b) Present Perfect
c) Future Continuous
d) Future Perfect Continuous
View Answer
Explanation: The tense used here is Future Continuous because the verb refers to an action which will be in progress at a time in the future.
7. The Past Participle of the verb ‘become’ is _______
a) became
b) had become
c) has become
d) become
View Answer
Explanation: A Participle is generally a word that is partly a Verb and partly an Adjective. Thus, the Past Participle of the verb ‘become’ is ‘become’ itself.
8. Select the sentence that uses the verb in the wrong tense.
a) Savita has not read that book
b) Rajesh lived in Bombay for many years
c) It has been raining for two weeks
d) They painted the house this afternoon
View Answer
Explanation: The word ‘for’ is generally used with the Perfect tense to show a period of time. Thus the correct verb form would be ‘has rained’ instead of ‘has been raining’.
9. Use the appropriate form of the verb to fill in the blank.
Leonard and Surya ___________ each other for so many years. (know)
a) known
b) had known
c) have known
d) has known
View Answer
Explanation: The verb for this sentence should be used in the Present Perfect tense because it denotes an action that began at some time in past and continuing up to the present moment.
10. The Past Participle of the verb ‘forbid’ is ‘forbade’.
a) True
b) False
View Answer
Explanation: ‘Forbidden’ is the Past Participle of the verb ‘forbid’. The word ‘forbade’ is used to indicate ‘forbid’ in the Past tense.
11. The tense used in the below sentence is ___________
She had been working as a freelancer before she joined this firm.
a) Present Perfect
b) Past Perfect
c) Present Continuous
d) Past Perfect Continuous
View Answer
Explanation: The verb in the sentence denotes an action that was going on before another action began. Thus, the tense used here is Past Perfect Continuous.
12. Which of the following sentences has the verb in Present Perfect Continuous tense?
a) I shall answer the mail tomorrow
b) I heard that Hari has passed the exams
c) I have been living here for nearly six years
d) He told me that he had submitted the record
View Answer
Explanation: In the sentence ‘I have been living here for nearly six years’, the action began some time in the past and is still continuing. Thus, this sentence uses the verb in Present Perfect Continuous.
13. Use the Past tense or the Past Participle of the verb given in brackets to fill in the blank.
Your brother was ________ to become a doctor. (mean)
a) mean
b) meaning
c) meant
d) meaned
View Answer
Explanation: Both the Past Tense and Past Participle of the verb ‘mean’ is ‘meant’. Thus, the sentence should be ‘Your brother was meant to become a doctor’.
14. Which of the following options indicating the three form of verbs (Base form, Past tense and Past Participle) is wrong?
a) cut – cut – cut
b) sit – sat – sat
c) walk – walked – walked
d) blow – blown – blewn
View Answer
Explanation: The verb in the base form is ‘blow’. ‘Blew’ is the verb in Past tense and ‘blown’ will be its Past Participle. Thus, the three forms will be ‘Blow- blew- blown’.
15. My little brother ________ ill for three days, when we took him to the hospital. (be)
Find the suitable option to fit in the blank.
a) was
b) has been
c) have been
d) had been
View Answer
Explanation: Here two actions had taken place one after the other. Therefore, the Past Perfect tense must be used for the blank to indicate that it happened first. Thus ‘had been’ is the right answer.
More English Grammar Exercises on Verb Tenses:
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