60 Gap Filling Practice Questions Tenses and Clauses | CBSE Class XI Grammar English Core

Tenses play a crucial role in mastering the English language, as they form the foundation of effective communication. Whether you're speaking or writing, understanding and using the correct tense ensures clarity and precision. In day-to-day life, tenses help us express when actions happen—whether in the past, present, or future. This understanding is especially important for students, as tenses are a key component of exams, where they demonstrate both grammar skills and the ability to structure sentences correctly. This post aims to provide practice exercises to help you master tenses, ensuring you can use them confidently in both everyday conversations and academic settings.

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Gap-Filling Questions: Tenses and Clauses

Present Simple (Indefinite)

1. She __________ to school every day. (go)
2. The bus __________ at 8:00 AM. (leave)
3. They __________ pizza for dinner on Sundays. (eat)
4. The sun __________ in the east. (rise)
5. He __________ his homework after school. (do)

Present Continuous

6. Right now, I __________ a book. (read)
7. They __________ a movie at the cinema tonight. (watch)
8. She __________ her keys at the moment. (look for)
9. We __________ dinner at 7 PM. (have)
10. I __________ to my friend about the homework. (talk)

Present Perfect

11. I __________ my wallet. (lose)
12. They __________ in this city for five years. (live)
13. She __________ her project yet. (not finish)
14. We __________ to that restaurant before. (not go)
15. How long __________ you __________ this book? (read)

Present Perfect Continuous

16. I __________ for an hour. (study)
17. She __________ all day. (work)
18. We __________ to fix the car since morning. (try)
19. They __________ at this school for three years. (study)
20. He __________ for over an hour. (wait)

Past Simple

21. I __________ my phone yesterday. (lose)
22. They __________ to the park last weekend. (go)
23. She __________ a cake for the party yesterday. (bake)
24. We __________ a great time at the concert. (have)
25. The teacher __________ the students yesterday. (help)

Past Continuous

26. At 9 PM last night, I __________ TV. (watch)
27. While they __________, it started to rain. (play football)
28. She __________ when I called her. (sleep)
29. The kids __________ outside when their parents arrived. (play)
30. What __________ you __________ when I called you? (do)

Past Perfect

31. By the time we arrived, they __________ dinner. (finish)
32. She __________ a lot of books before she became a teacher. (read)
33. They __________ their homework by the time I arrived. (finish)
34. I __________ the book before I saw the movie. (read)
35. We __________ that movie already. (watch)

Past Perfect Continuous

36. They __________ for hours when I arrived. (wait)
37. I __________ for the bus when it started raining. (wait)
38. He __________ for two years before he got a job. (study)
39. She __________ all afternoon. (work)
40. We __________ for a long time before we decided to leave. (talk)

Future Simple

41. I __________ a new phone next month. (buy)
42. They __________ to the beach tomorrow. (go)
43. We __________ the test next week. (take)
44. She __________ a doctor when she grows up. (become)
45. I __________ you after the meeting. (call)

Future Continuous

46. This time tomorrow, I __________ on the beach. (relax)
47. They __________ at 8 PM tomorrow. (eat)
48. He __________ at the concert when you arrive. (sing)
49. We __________ dinner at 7:00 PM tomorrow. (have)
50. I __________ to you when you come. (talk)

Future Perfect

51. By the end of the year, I __________ this book. (finish)
52. They __________ the project by the time the boss arrives. (complete)
53. We __________ the test by next Monday. (finish)
54. I __________ my homework before the class starts. (complete)
55. She __________ the work by 5 PM tomorrow. (finish)

Future Perfect Continuous

56. By next year, I __________ here for 10 years. (work)
57. By the time you arrive, we __________ for two hours. (wait)
58. They __________ for a month by the time they move. (study)
59. She __________ for 5 years before she retires. (teach)
60. We __________ all afternoon before we go to the party. (work)

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Answer Key

Present Simple (Indefinite)

1. goes
2. leaves
3. eat
4. rises
5. does

Present Continuous
6. am reading
7. are watching
8. is looking for
9. are having
10. am talking

Present Perfect
11. have lost
12. have lived
13. hasn’t finished
14. haven’t gone
15. have you read

Present Perfect Continuous
16. have been studying
17. has been working
18. have been trying
19. have been studying
20. has been waiting

Past Simple
21. lost
22. went
23. baked
24. had
25. helped

Past Continuous
26. was watching
27. were playing football
28. was sleeping
29. were playing
30. were you doing

Past Perfect
31. had finished
32. had read
33. had finished
34. had read
35. had watched

Past Perfect Continuous
36. had been waiting
37. had been waiting
38. had been studying
39. had been working
40. had been talking

Future Simple
41. will buy
42. will go
43. will take
44. will become
45. will call

Future Continuous
46. will be relaxing
47. will be eating
48. will be singing
49. will be having
50. will be talking

Future Perfect
51. will have finished
52. will have completed
53. will have finished
54. will have completed
55. will have finished

Future Perfect Continuous
56. will have been working
57. will have been waiting
58. will have been studying
59. will have been teaching
60. will have been working

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The Tense - Practice Questions

Before checking out these questions, we would like to recommend you to visit our blog by clicking on the link below, where we explain all forms of tense in detail with examples for better understanding.

Tense with examples.

I. Determine the tense of the following sentences:-

Note: Answer key given below.

1. He has just finished his project.

2. Has he finished dinner?

3. Ram is covering his notebook.

4. She was always complaing about others.

5. We have always been living here.

6. She was doing her homework when I called her.

7. The train had left when we reached station.

8. My mother went to the market.

9. An accident took place yesterday.

10. My sister is leaving the school soon.

11. The galss has been broken by her.

12. The world will change for good.

13. They had written letters.

14. A pen is lying under the sofa.

15. She is coming back from America.

Answer key:-

1. Answer: Present Perfect tense. 

Explanation: Since the form of the present perfect tense is has/have + past participle form of the verb, and the given sentence also follows the same form, it is in present perfect tense.

2. Answer: Present Perfect Tense (interrogative form).

3. Answer: Simple present tense.

4  Answer: Past continuous tense.

5. Answer: Present Perfect Continuous.

6. Answer: Past Continuous Tense .

7. Answer: Past Perfect Tense.

8. Answer: Simple Past Tense.

9. Answer: Simple Past Tense 

10. Answer: Present Continuous Tense.

11. Answer: Present Perfect Tense.

12. Answer: Simple Future Tense.

13. Answer: Past Perfect.

14. Answer:  Present Continuous.

15. Answer: Present Continuous.

II. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verb with the help of the words given in the brackets:-

1. I love to ____ books. (read)

2. She is ____ water.(drink)

3. My hobby ____ gardening. (be)

4. She had ____(leave) when we ____ (reach) there.

5. She will have _____ (write) the letter by then.

Answer key:-

1. Read

2. Drinking

3. Is

4. Left, reached

5. Writtenn

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Tenses - Explanation with Examples

Tense: In simple words we can say that, tense is nothing but forms of verb which show us whether an action that once in time took place is still goin on, completed, or will go on.

We use these forms to talk about the present, the past and the future.

The different tenses are :-

1. Simple Present

2. Present continuous

3. Present perfect

4. Present perfect continuous

5. Simple past

6. Past continuous

7. Past perfect

8. Past perfect continuous

9. Simple future

10. Future continuous

11. Future perfect

12. Future perfect continuous 

1. Simple present tense:-

Subject + verb 1 form + object

Example: I am hungry.

• It is used to express actions that happen all the time and that are happening at the moment.

Example: We keep our shop open till midnight.

• It is used to express scientific or geographical facts.

Example: Water boils at 100°C.

It rains heavily in Mumbai.

• To express natural quality or profession.

Example: Parents love their children.

• For universal truths.

Example: The earth rotates on its axis.

• To express habit or anything that repeats.

Example: He wakes up at 6 o' clock everyday.

 2. Present Continuous tense:-

Sub + I/am/are + 1st form of verb + ing + object

Example: I am eating my food.

• It is used for an action happening at the time of speaking.

Example: We are discussing tense.

• Action happening nowadays with breaks.

Example: I am reading a novel by tagore.

• To express a definite programme in future. Example: Ma'am is taking an extra class tomorrow.

3. Present perfect tense:-

Subject + has/have + verb 3rd form.

Example: I have completed my work.

It is used for:-

• A very recently finished action.

Example: You are late by a few minutes. The train has left just now.

• An action finished in the past but the effects can still be felt.

Example: The strong wind last night has left some broken window panes.

4. Present Perfect Continuous:-

Subject + has/have+ been + verb 1st form + ing + object.

Example: I have been completing my work.

It is used for:-

• An action that started in the past , is in progress at the time of speaking and will continue in the future.

Example: She has been playing in the park all this time.

5. Simple Past Tense:-

Subject + Verb 3rd form + Object

Example: I ate an icecream.

It is used for:-

• action happened i sometime in the past. Example: His presentation impressed everyone.

• A past habit.

Example: I used to love cold coffee.

6. Past Continuous Tense:-

Subject + was/were + verb 1st form + object

Example: I was completing my work.

It is used for:-

• An action in progress over a period of time in the past.

Example: She was singing melodiously.

• To express parallel action which continued in the past.

Example: My mother was cooking food while my father was reading the magazine.

•To express past frequently repeated action.

Example: She was always complaining about low income.

7. Past Perfect Tense:-

Subject + had + 3rd form of verb + object

• To express an action that completed at a given moment in the past.

Two actions take place:-

1st action in  past perfect.

2nd action in simple past.

Example: The patient had died before the doctor arrived.

8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense:-

Subject + had been + 1st form of verb + ing

It is used for:-

• An action that began in the past, continued for some time and has recently finished.

Example: I had been doing my homework.

• When time expression is given.

Example: My neighbours business had been doing very well when the lockdown happened again.

9. Simple Future Tense:-

Subject + will + 1st form of the verb.

It is used to :-

• Express an action that will happen in the future at some time.

Example: I will return your book after reading.  

• For a certain planned action

Example: The train will stop for a few minutes only, let's get close to the door.

• To express thinking or view.

Example: I don't think that this virus will go away easily. 

• To predict an event in the future.

Example: The candidate is going to win the elections.

10. Future continuous tense

Subject + will be + 1st form of verb + ing

It is used for :-

• An action in progress in the future.

Example: I will be having dinner at 8 o' clock.

• Predicting the future.

Example: It will be raining tomorrow.

11. Future Perfect Tense:-

Subject + will have + 3rd form of verb + object

It is used to describe:-

• An action finished at / before a given time in the future.

Example: We will have cleared the old stock at our shop before the fresh stock arrives.

12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense:-

Subject + Will have been + 1st form of verb + ing

It is used to :-

• Express a continued action in future.

Example: She will have been studying for two hours.

  

Check your knowledge of tense by answering questions by clicking the link below:-

Tenses quiz