Grammar Exercise: English Tenses Review

Grammar Exercises – Mixed Tenses Exercises

Do the exercises below on the English tenses and click on the button to check your answers.

(Before doing the exercises, you may want to revise the lessons on the English tenses)

Looking for a quick review of English tenses? Jump to the Recap.

Quiz Time For English Learners
Quiz Time For English Learners: Tenses Exercises with Answers

Tenses Exercises with Answers

Instructions

Read the sentences, understand the context, and put the verbs in the correct tense.

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple present or present progressive)

  1. Look! Sara (go) to the movies.
  2. On her right hand, Sara (carry) her handbag.
  3. The handbag (be) very beautiful.
  4. Sara usually (put) on black shoes but now she (wear) white trainers.
  5. And look, she (take) an umbrella because it (rain)  

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or past perfect)

  1. When he (wake up) , his mother (already /prepare) breakfast
  2. We (go) to London because our friends (invite) us
  3. He (hear) the news, (go) to the telephone and (call) a friend.
  4. When she (start) learning English she (already /learn) French.
  5. Jane (already / type) three pages when her computer (crash) .
  6. By the time the doctor (arrive) at the house the patient ( die) .
  7. Before that day we (never / think) of traveling to Japan.
  8. I (know) him a long time before I (meet) his family.
  9. They (not / know) where to meet because nobody (tell) them.
  10. It (be) cloudy for days before it (begin) to rain.

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or present perfect).

  1. I (just / finish) my homework.
  2. Mary (already / write) five letters.
  3. Tom (move) to his home town in 1994.
  4. My friend (be) in Canada two years ago.
  5. I (not / be) to Canada so far.
  6. But I (already / travel) to London a couple of times.
  7. Last week, Mary and Paul (go) to the cinema.
  8. I can't take any pictures because I (not /buy) a new film yet.
  9. (they / spend) their holidays in Paris last summer?
  10. (you / ever / see ) a whale?

Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).

  1. The receptionist (welcome) the guests and (ask) them to fill in the form
  2. The car (break) down and we (have) to walk home.
  3. The boys (swim) while the girls (sunbath) .
  4. My father (come) in, (look) and (tell) me to tidy up my room.
  5. While one group (prepare) dinner the others (collect) wood for the campfire.
  6. While the parents (have) breakfast the children (run) about.
  7. Martha (turn) off the light and (go) to bed.

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple future or future perfect)

  1. Tomorrow I think I (start)  my new project.
  2. I (finish) it by the end of this month.
  3. The teacher (probably/assign) a test to his students next Monday.
  4. He (correct) it by the end of next week.
  5. My friend (certainly/get) a good mark.
  6. By 9 o'clock, we (finish) our homework.
  7. They (leave) the classroom by the end of the hour.
  8. I think I (start) my trip tomorrow

Warning

Before submitting the test, check the following:

  • Punctuation and capitalization
  • Spelling
  • Spaces (don't add any unnecessary spaces)

Such mistakes would cost you valuable points. Good luck!

Overview of Main English Tenses

English tenses help convey when an action occurs. Below is a concise review of the main tenses, with examples:

1. Present Tenses

  • Simple Present: For routines or general truths.
    Example: She walks to school every day.
  • Present Continuous: For ongoing actions.
    Example: She is walking to school now.
  • Present Perfect: For actions with relevance to the present.
    Example: She has walked to school already.
  • Present Perfect Continuous: For actions continuing until now.
    Example: She has been walking for an hour.

2. Past Tenses

  • Simple Past: For completed actions.
    Example: She walked to school yesterday.
  • Past Continuous: For actions in progress at a specific time in the past.
    Example: She was walking to school at 8 AM.
  • Past Perfect: For actions completed before another past action.
    Example: She had walked to school before the rain started.
  • Past Perfect Continuous: For ongoing past actions before another past action.
    Example: She had been walking for an hour when it began to rain.

3. Future Tenses

  • Simple Future: For planned or spontaneous future actions.
    Example: She will walk to school tomorrow.
  • Future Continuous: For ongoing actions at a specific time in the future.
    Example: She will be walking to school at 8 AM.
  • Future Perfect: For actions completed before a future time.
    Example: She will have walked to school by 10 AM.
  • Future Perfect Continuous: For ongoing actions up to a specific future time.
    Example: She will have been walking for an hour by the time she arrives.
Tags: Exercises on English TensesTenses Review Exercises
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