Complete the
following sentences using an appropriate verb form.
1. She
---------------------- that it was my last chance.
(a) said (b) told
2. She
-------------------- me that she would be late.
(a) said (b) told
3. Clara
--------------------------- a naughty word this morning.
(a) said (b) told
4. I
--------------------- the children to keep quiet.
(a) said (b)
told
5. I don't think that
he is ---------------------- the truth.
(a) saying (b) telling
6. He has a reputation
for --------------------- nasty jokes.
(a) saying (b) telling
7. He
--------------------- whether I was free.
(a) said (b) asked (c)
told
8. I
--------------------- an aeroplane.
(a) can see (b) am seeing
9. Suddenly I
------------------------ something strange.
(a) looked at (b) saw
10.
--------------------- if that shirt still fits you.
(a) See (b) Look
Answers
1. She said that
it was my last chance. (Say is used in cases where there is no direct object.)
2. She told me
that she would be late. (We use tell when there is a personal object we use say
when there is no object.)
3. Clara said a
naughty word this morning. (The word tell is not normally used before objects
like 'word', 'name', 'sentence' and 'phrase'.)
4. I told the
children to keep quiet.
5. I don't think that
he is telling the truth.
6. He has a reputation
for telling nasty jokes. (There are some common expressions with
tell: tell the truth, tell a lie; tell a joke)
7. He asked whether
I was free. (The words say and tell cannot be used to introduce indirect questions.)
8. I can see an
aeroplane. (See is one of those verbs that are not normally used in the
continuous form.)
9. Suddenly I saw something
strange.
10. See if
that shirt still fits you. (When see means find out, it can be followed by if
or whether.)
Complete the following sentences using an appropriate verb form.
1. She
--------------------- stories. (write / writes)
2. We
-------------------- waiting for you. (are / have / is)
3. It
--------------------- raining. (has / was / had)
4. Raju and his brother
------------------------ at a factory. (work / works)
5. The thief
------------------------ (has caught / has been caught / had caught)
6. I
------------------- him yesterday. (visited / have visited)
7. We
--------------------- to the movies last night. (went / had gone)
8. He
------------------- here two days ago. (came / has come / had come)
9. I
--------------------- that movie. (have seen / saw)
10. He
--------------------- from Mumbai University in 2012. (graduated / has
graduated)
Answers
1. She writes stories.
2. We are waiting for you.
3. It was raining.
4. Raju and his
brother work at a
factory.
5. The thief has been caught.
6. I visited him yesterday. (The
present perfect tense cannot be used with adverbs referring to the past.)
7. We went to the movies last night.
8. He came here two days ago.
9. I have seen that movie. (We use the
present perfect tense to talk about actions or situations completed at an
unspecified point of time in the past.)
10. He graduated from Mumbai University
in 2012.
Complete the following sentences.
1. They
--------------------- the work 2 weeks ago.
(a) finished (b) have finished (c) had finished
2. I
----------------------- my work just now.
(a) finished (b) have finished
3. He
------------------ his mobile phone shortly after he -------------------- it.
(a) had lost; bought (b)
lost; had bought (c) had lost; had bought
4. He
-------------------- for murder.
(a) was hung (b) was hanged
5. He
--------------------- the pictures on the wall.
(a) hanged (b) hung
6. The hen
------------------------ six eggs.
(a) has laid (b) was
lain
7. He
--------------------- under the tree.
(a) lay (b) laid
8. Death
------------------------- his icy hand on all.
(a) lay (b) lays
9. I
---------------------- about it a moment ago.
(a) thought (b) have thought
10. He reached the
station after the train --------------------
(a) left (b) had left
(c) has left
11. When I reached
home, my brother --------------------- his dinner.
(a) took
(b) was taking
12. My friend
----------------------- ill for about one month.
(a) is (b)
has been
Answers
1. They finished the
work 2 weeks ago.
2. I have
finished my work just now. (In British English, we use the present
perfect tense with recently completed actions and events. In American English,
the simple past tense is also possible here.)
3. He lost his mobile
phone shortly after he had bought. it. (When you talk about two
past events, use the past perfect tense for the earlier of the two.)
4. He was
hanged for murder.
5. He hung the
pictures on the wall.
6. The hen has
laid six eggs. (Hen lays eggs. Laid is the past participle form of
lay.)
7. He lay under
the tree. (Lay is the past tense of lie; lie - lay - lain)
8. Death lays his
icy hand on all. (Lay means 'put down carefully' or 'put down flat'.)
9. I thought about
it a moment ago. (We do not use the present perfect tense with adverbs
referring to the past.)
10. He reached the
station after the train had left. (We use the past perfect tense
for the earlier of two past actions.)
11. When I reached
home, my brother was taking his dinner. (To talk about an
activity that was in progress while another action occurred, we use the present
continuous tense.)
12. My friend has
been ill for about one month.
Complete the following sentences.
1. He said that he
--------------------- her last year.
(a) saw (b) had seen
2. I
------------------- my work before he ------------------- me.
(a) finished; visited (b) had finished; had visited (c) had finished; visited
3. The concert
---------------------- when we ----------------------- the venue.
(a) started; reached (b) had started; reached (c) started; had reached
4. No one
--------------------- the baby after his mother died.
(a) cared for (b) took care of
5. When we went there
we discovered that the snake ------------------------
(a) was disappeared (b) had disappeared (c) disappeared
6. He got angry even
before I ---------------------- a word.
(a) said (b) had said
7. There I met a man
who ---------------------- my tutor 20 years ago.
(a) was (b) had been
8. We
---------------------- here since 1990.
(a) are staying ( b) have been staying
9. My brother
---------------------- in Delhi since 2005.
(a) is working (b) works (c) has been working
10. It ------------------
for the last four days.
(a) is raining (b) has been raining
Answers
1. He said that
he had seen her last year.
2. I had
finished my work before he visited me.
3. The concert had
started when we reached the venue.
4. No one took
care of the baby after his mother died.
5. When we went there
we discovered that the snake had disappeared.
6. He got angry even
before I had said a word.
7. There I met a man
who had been my tutor 20 years ago.
8. We have
been staying here since 1990.
9. My brother has
been working in Delhi since 2005.
10. It has
been raining for the last four days.
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the words
given in the brackets.
1. Everyone
appreciated the ------------------- of the idea. (novel)
2. He was
--------------------- of his rich neighbor. (envy)
3. Kids can become
very ------------------- when they are unwell. (irritability)
4. We have to
-------------------- our campaign against child labour. (intense)
5. The sage told the
young man that he was reaping the harvest of the --------------------- he had
sown. (hate)
6. Until the police
complete the --------------------- the accused will not be released on bail.
(investigate)
7. My grandmother
takes great ------------------ in feeding stray dogs. (please)
8. We had a
-------------------- vacation in Maldives. (memory)
9. The woman
---------------------- at the death of her husband. (grieve)
10. The circus artist
performed many dangerous tricks while walking ----------------------- on a
rope. (precarious)
Answers
1. Everyone
appreciated the novelty of the idea.
2. He was envious of
his rich neighbor.
3. Kids can become
very irritable when they are unwell.
4. We have to intensify our
campaign against child labour.
5. The sage told the
young man that he was reaping the harvest of the hatred he had
sown.
6. Until the police
complete the investigation the accused will not be released on
bail.
7. My grandmother
takes great pleasure in feeding stray dogs.
8. We had a memorable vacation
in Maldives.
9. The woman grieved at
the death of her husband.
10. The circus artist
performed many dangerous tricks while walking precariously on a
rope.
