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

1. The police …………………………….. the case. (still investigate)

2. When I …………………………. (meet) him yesterday, he ………………………… (tell) me about his new projects.

3. The girl asked me if I ………………………….. help her. (can)

4. India ………………………. (become) independent in 1947. Since then our country ………………………… (make) huge progress.

5. They ……………………………… (live) in that dilapidated building until the municipal authorities …………………………….. (demolish) it.

6. He ………………………. (ride) a bicycle for several years. Yesterday for the first time, he ……………………………. (meet) with an accident.

7. My uncle who …………………………… (work) in Mumbai ……………………….. (suffer) from cancer. He ……………………………. (undergo) treatment for the last two years.

8. The train ……………………………. (arrive) at the station 10 minutes ago. Now it ………………………….. (leave) the station. When we reached the station, it …………………………… (already leave). By 12 o’ clock, it ………………………….. Pune. (reach)

9. He ………………………….. (leave) for Delhi next Monday with his uncle who ……………………… (arrive) here yesterday. He ………………………….. (return) from Delhi in August.

10. Two days ago Rajan ……………………… (ask) me to draw a picture for him. I ……………………………. (draw) it now. By the time he …………………………. (come) tomorrow, I …………………………………… (finish) it.

Answers

1. The police are still investigating the case. (Use the present continuous to talk about an ongoing action or situation.)

2. When I met him yesterday, he told me about his new projects. (Use the simple past when you say when something happened.)

3. The girl asked me if I could help her. (Can in the direct question becomes could in the indirect question.)

4. India became independent in 1947. Since then our country has been making / has made huge progress. (Either the present perfect or the present perfect continuous can be used to talk about an action or situation that started in the past and has continued up to the present.)

5. They lived / were living in that dilapidated building until the municipal authorities demolished it.

6. He has been riding a bicycle for several years. Yesterday for the first time, he met with an accident.

7. My uncle who works in Mumbai is suffering from cancer. He has been undergoing treatment for the last two years.

8. The train arrived at the station 10 minutes ago. Now it has left the station. When we reached the station, it had already left. By 12 o’ clock, it will reach Pune.

9. He is leaving for Delhi next Monday with his uncle who arrived here yesterday. He will return from Delhi in August. (Use the present continuous to talk about a pre-planned future event.)

10. Two days ago Rajan asked me to draw a picture for him. I am drawing it now. By the time he comes tomorrow, I will have finished it. (Use the simple past with past time expressions.)