This tenses exercise tests your understanding of various tense forms and rules. You need a good understanding of different tense forms to be able to write grammatically correct English.

Sequence of tenses | basic rules

When the main verb is in the past tense, use past tenses in the subordinate clauses as well. There are very few exceptions to this rule.

• She asked me what I was doing. (NOT She asked me what I am doing.)
• They said that there were leaving. (NOT They said that they are leaving.)

When verbs in both the main clause and the subordinate clause refer to future, we usually use a simple present in the subordinate clause.

• I will inform you as soon as I hear from them. (NOT I will inform you as soon as I will hear them.)
• I will wait until they come. (NOT I will wait until they will come.)

Tenses exercise for class 8

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verb given in the brackets.

1. The tenants complained that there ………………….. not enough hot water. (be)

2. She said that she …………………….. late. (will be working / would be working)

3. I don’t know what ……………………… to her. (happened / has happened)

4. Where ………………………….. all this while? (were you / have you been)

5. She asked me if I ………………………….. interested in the offer. (am / was / have been)

6. If they continue to work at this pace, they …………………………… the job by evening. (will be finishing / will have finished)

7. At this time tomorrow, I ………………………. my exam. (will write / will be writing / am writing)

8. By next year, we …………………………… in this town for twenty years. (will live / will have lived / would have lived)

9. He became angry before I …………………….. a word. (said / have said / had said)

10. The constable asked if I …………………….. the thief. (saw / have seen / had seen)

11. As I ………………………….. down the street, I saw an injured cat. (was walking / am walking / walked)

12. While you were playing computer games, I …………………………… on my assignment. (was working / am working / worked)

13. As I closed my eyes, I …………………………… seeing strange figures. (start / started / have started)

14. I finished first because I ………………………….. fast. (work / worked / have worked)

15. I will wait here until you ……………………………. ready. (get / got / have got)

16. She ……………………………. so we can start work. (came / come / has come / had come)

17. Yesterday I went back to the town that I ………………………………… twenty years before. (have left / had left / was leaving)

18. You can’t go home before you …………………………………… that report. (finished / are finishing / have finished)

19. He will get angry if you …………………………….. (disturb / disturbed / had disturbed) him while he …………………………. (works / has worked / is working)

20. I …………………………….. up before the magistrate for rash driving last week. (have come / came / had come)

Answers

1. was, 2. would be working, 3. happened, 4. have you been, 5. was, 6. will have finished, 7. will be writing, 8. will have lived, 9. had said, 10. had seen, 11. was walking, 12. was working, 13. started, 14. worked, 15. get, 16. has come, 17. had left, 18. have finished, 19. is working, 20. came

Exercise 2

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verb.

1. He ……………………. (rise) from his seat.

2. She …………………….. (raise) her hand.

3. He …………………….. with a rode. (beat)

4. She ……………………… a successful writer. (become)

5. Trouble …………………….. (start) as soon as he arrived.

6. He …………………….. (bind) to a tree.

7. The injured person …………………… (bleed) for hours before he was taken to hospital.

8. The scandal …………………….. out of proportion. (blew)

9. He ……………………. (break) down in the middle of his speech.

10. Emperor Asoka …………………….. (bring) about many reforms.

11. This castle …………………….. (build) in the 16^th century.

12. I ……………………. (burn) my finger while toasting bread in the morning.

Answers

1. rose, 2. raised, 3. was beaten, 4. has become (Use the present perfect to give news.),5. started, 6. was bound, 7. bled / has been bleeding, 8. was blown, 9. broke, 10. brought, 11. was built, 12. burned / burnt

Exercise 3

Complete the following sentences with the appropriate form of the verb given in the brackets.

1. I always ……………………….. that she was lying. (know)

2. …………………………. (you watch) the football match on TV last night?

3. …………………………. (you wait) for long?

4. I ………………………….. that she is lying. (suspect)

5. When I …………………….. (be) a child, I ……………………………… (will / would) spend hours playing in the yard.

6. She …………………………….. here in the morning. (be)

7. I waited and waited but she ……………………………….. (not come)

8. ……………………………. (you do) your homework?

9. I couldn’t go out to play because I …………………………….. (have) to work on my project.

10. You can start working on the next project after you …………………………….. (finish) this one.

11. …………………………. (not forget) to post the letter.

12. Do you know where he ……………………………? (be)

Answers

1. knew, 2. did you watch, 3. have you been waiting, 4. suspect, 5. would, 6. was, 7. didn’t come, 8. have you done, 9. had, 10. have finished, 11. don’t forget, 12. is

Exercise 4

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate tense form.

Notes

The present perfect is the most common tense for giving news.

Biomedical researchers …………1…………. (developed / have developed / had developed) drugs capable of defeating ‘super bugs’, the bacteria that …………2……….. (developed / has developed / have developed / develop) resistance to common antibiotics. Researchers at the Boston University ’s College of Engineering ……………3…………. (discovered / are discovering / have discovered) a previously unknown chain of events occurring in bacteria that ……………4…………… (opens / is opening/ opened) the door to new avenues of research. The findings may ……………5……………. (revitalizes / revitalize / revitalized) development of antibiotic drugs that ………………6…………… (will do / shall do / could do) their job better.

Answers

1. have developed, 2. have developed, 3. have discovered, 4. opens, 5. may revitalize, 6. will do

Exercise 5

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate tense form.

1. I ………………………… (water) the plants before it ………………………. (start) raining.

2. She ………………………. (leave) before I …………………….. (reach) her place.

3. The injured man ……………………….. (die) before they …………………………. (take) him to hospital.

4. I ………………………….. (wait) for my result.

5. We ………………………. a movie yesterday. (watch)

6. I …………………………… for my exam (prepare). I think I ……………………….. (get) good marks.

7. We …………………………. In Kerala for 12 years. (live)

8. I ……………………….. (talk) to the manager in the evening.

9. I ………………………… them yesterday. (meet)

10. I …………………………….. (buy) a laptop last week.

11. Be careful or else you …………………………….. the glass. (drop)

12. This time tomorrow, I ………………………………. (write) my exam.

Answers

1. had watered, started (Use the past perfect for the earlier of the two past actions.)

2. had left, reached

3. had died, took

4. am waiting

5. watched (Use the simple past to talk about a finished event when we say when it happened.)

6. have prepared, will get

7. have been living (Use the present perfect continuous to talk about an action or situation that started in the past and has continued up to the present and is still continuing.)

8. will talk

9. met

10. bought

11. will drop

12. will be writing (Use the future continuous tense to say that an activity will be in progress at a particular time in the future.)

Exercise 6

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate tense form.

1. It was too warm so I ………………… my coat off. (take)

2. ‘Where did you go on holiday?’ ‘We ……………. to the US.’ (go)

3. The film was good. I ……………….. (enjoy) it very much.

4. I knew she ……………… (sleep) so I ……………….. (not disturb) her.

5. When I opened the window, a bird ………………. into the room. (fly)

6. The room was very hot. I …………………. comfortably. (not sleep)

7. The hotel was quite affordable. It ……………… much to stay there. (not cost)

8. I was in a hurry so I ………………… to take my umbrella. (forget)

9. I ………………… out last night because I was too tired. (not go)

10. They ………………… (not invite) us to the party so we …………………. (not go)

Answers

1. took, 2. went, 3. enjoyed, 4. was sleeping, did not disturb, 5. opened, flew, 6. was, did not sleep, 7. was, did not cost, 8. forgot, 9. didn’t go, 10. did not invite, did not go

Notes

The past perfect tense is used for the earlier of two past actions. It is not used when we are talking about just one past action. For example, we do not use the past tense to say that something had happened sometime ago. We use the simple past tense for this meaning.

• He met with an accident yesterday. (NOT He had met with an …)
• She hadn’t paid the bill so they cut her internet connection off.