Tense consistency exercise 2 | English grammar exercises

This exercise tests your knowledge of tenses. Complete the following sentences using an appropriate verb form. Choose your answers from the options given in the brackets.

If you didn’t do well or want to learn about tenses before doing this exercise go to the tenses study page. To learn about the present perfect tense go to this study page. To learn about the correct use of the present perfect continuous tense, go to this study page. To learn about the simple past tense go to this study page.

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1. 'You are all wet.' 'Yes, I .................... gardening.' (was / have been)

2. 'You look tired.' 'Yes, I ..................... running non-stop until 6 o'clock.' (was / have been)

3. I .................... for his reply for well over three weeks. (am waiting / have been waiting)

4. The children ................... in the garden when their mother returned home from work. (have been playing / were playing)

5. I .................. English for six months. (am learning / have been learning)

6. How long ....................... you ....................? (are, waiting; have, been waiting)

7. Susie ...................... ten minutes ago. (phoned / has phoned)

8. This is the first time I ................... her perform. (saw / have seen)

9. I .................. two rooms since lunchtime. (painted / have painted)

10. I ................... in my sister's flat for the last month. (have lived / have been living)

11. I realized that we .................... before. (met / had met / have met)

12. Studies suggest that the universe .................. since the beginning of time. (was expanding / has been expanding)

Answers

1. Have been; 2. Was; 3. Have been waiting; 4. Were playing; 5. Have been learning; 6. Have, been waiting; 7. Phoned; 8. Have seen; 9. Have painted; 10. Have been living; 11. Had met; 12. Has been expanding

Sections in this article

Synthesis of sentences - I
Synthesis of sentences - II
Synthesis of sentences - III
Synthesis of sentences - IV

See also

Adverb clauses
Adjective clauses
Noun clauses
Transformation of sentences

See also

Common mistakes in the use of nouns
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 1
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 2
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 3

More CBSE English Grammar worksheets

Passive voice worksheet | Simple past tense
Passive voice worksheet | Past continuous tense
Passive voice worksheet | Simple future tense
Passive voice worksheet | Future perfect tense