English Tenses Quiz

English Tenses Quiz

English Tenses

Understanding English tenses is essential for anyone who wants to speak or write the language with confidence. Tenses show when an action happens – past, present, or future – and help convey whether it’s finished, ongoing, or planned.

The Three Main Time Frames

Present Tense
Describes what is happening now or what happens regularly.
Examples: “I walk to school every day.” “She is reading a novel.”

Past Tense
Tells what already happened.
Examples: “They played cricket yesterday.” “He was watching TV when I arrived.”

Future Tense
Explains what will happen later.
Examples: “We will meet tomorrow.” “I am going to start a new course.”

Four Forms in Each Tense

Each time frame – present, past, and future – has four common forms:

• Simple: a basic statement of fact.
• Continuous (Progressive): an action happening over a period of time.
• Perfect: an action completed before another time.
• Perfect Continuous: an action that began earlier and is still happening or has just finished.

For example, in the present tense you can say:

• Simple: “I write.”
• Continuous: “I am writing.”
• Perfect: “I have written.”
• Perfect Continuous: “I have been writing.”

English Tenses exercise

Here are 30 fill-in-the-blank questions that cover a range of English tenses (present, past, future, and their simple/continuous/perfect forms).

1. She usually ________ (go) to school by bus.
2. We ________ (watch) a movie right now.
3. They ________ (not/like) spicy food.
4. I ________ (finish) my homework yesterday.
5. He ________ (play) football when it started to rain.
6. We ________ (live) here for five years.
7. By next week, she ________ (complete) the project.
8. I think it ________ (rain) tomorrow.
9. While I was cooking, the phone ________ (ring).
10. He never ________ (forget) to call his mother.
11. At this time yesterday, we ________ (drive) to the beach.
12. The train ________ (arrive) at 8 a.m. every day.
13. She ________ (not/see) that movie yet.
14. They ________ (study) English when I visited.
15. By 2026, I ________ (work) at this company for ten years.
16. The baby ________ (sleep) when the noise woke her.
17. He ________ (travel) to Japan next month.
18. We ________ (already/eat) dinner before you arrived.
19. Listen! Someone ________ (knock) at the door.
20. When I was a child, we ________ (go) to the park every Sunday.
21. By the time you call, I ________ (finish) my meeting.
22. She ________ (read) a book at the moment.
23. They ________ (not/come) to the party last night.
24. I ________ (never/visit) London.
25. While he was running, he ________ (fall) and hurt his knee.
26. We ________ (plan) a trip for next summer.
27. The flowers ________ (bloom) beautifully every spring.
28. By the end of the day, she ________ (write) five pages.
29. He ________ (not/do) his homework yet.
30. Right now, I ________ (talk) to my friend on the phone.

Answers:

1. goes
2. are watching
3. do not like / don’t like
4. finished
5. was playing
6. have lived
7. will have completed
8. will rain
9. rang
10. forgets
11. were driving
12. arrives
13. has not seen / hasn’t seen
14. were studying
15. will have worked
16. was sleeping
17. will travel
18. had already eaten
19. is knocking
20. went
21. will have finished
22. is reading
23. did not come / didn’t come
24. have never visited
25. fell
26. are planning
27. bloom
28. will have written
29. has not done / hasn’t done
30. am talking

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