Common mistakes with verbs | Grammar exercise
Complete the following sentences using appropriate phrases.
1. He ………………………… here for 2 hours.
a) is standing
b) has been standing
2. No one …………………….. after his wife died.
a) took care of him
b) cared for him
c) cared about him
3. He ……………………. to me since the last committee meeting.
a) did not speak
b) has not spoken
c) had not spoken
4. They ……………………… the problems.
a) discussed about
b) discussed
5. We …………………….. tennis every day.
a) are playing
b) play
c) have been playing
6. I ……………………… the test after several attempts.
a) could pass
b) was able to pass
7. Neither of the boys ………………….. returned.
a) has
b) have
8. The performance of the children ……………………. excellent.
a) was
b) were
9. Each of the boys ……………………… punished.
a) was
b) were
10. One of the boys …………………… gone missing.
a) has
b) have
Answers
1. He has been standing here for 2 hours.
2. No one took care of him after his wife died.
3. He has not spoken to me since the last committee meeting.
4. They discussed the problems.
5. We play tennis every day. (To talk about habitual actions we use the simple present tense.)
6. I was able to pass the test after several attempts. (To say that we managed to do something on a particular occasion in the past, we use was able to. Could is used to talk about general ability in the past.)
7. Neither of the boys has returned.
8. The performance of the children was excellent. (Here the subject is the singular noun ‘performance’)
9. Each of the boys was punished.
10. One of the boys has gone missing.
