Tenses MCQ Questions and Answers | English Grammar MCQ

The sentence "Last night I ________ you, but the phone was out of order." describes a situation where the speaker attempted to contact someone by phone. The past tense form "phoned" is the most appropriate choice to fill in the blank. This indicates that the speaker made an effort to call the person, but their attempt was unsuccessful because the phone was out of order. The usage of "phoned" in the past tense accurately conveys the idea that the action was performed, even though it did not yield the intended result due to the phone's malfunction.

Option A: would phone
This option is incorrect. "Would phone" is not suitable in this context, as it implies a hypothetical or conditional action, rather than a past attempt to call.

Option C: were going to phone
This option is incorrect. "Were going to phone" indicates an intention in the past, but it does not convey that the actual action of phoning took place.

Option D: did phone
This option is incorrect. "Did phone" is grammatically correct, but it does not capture the fact that the attempt to phone was unsuccessful due to the phone being out of order.

Option E: didn't phone
This option is incorrect. "Didn't phone" implies that no attempt to call was made, which contradicts the context of the sentence where the speaker tried to call but couldn't due to the phone being out of order.

The correct answer is Option B: phoned, as it accurately represents the past action of attempting to call someone, despite the unsuccessful outcome due to the malfunctioning phone.

The sentence "You will regret for being late to the party." requires a future tense construction to convey the idea that the regretful feeling will occur in the future as a consequence of being late to the party. The most suitable option is "will regret," which forms the future tense indicating that the feeling of regret will occur after the event.

Option B: will be regretting
This option is grammatically correct, but it may not be as concise as "will regret." Both options convey a future tense meaning, but "will regret" is a more straightforward choice.

Option C: have been regretting
This option is incorrect because the present perfect continuous tense "have been regretting" indicates an ongoing action up to the present moment, which does not fit the context of the sentence describing a future event.

Option D: regret
This option is incorrect as it uses the base form of the verb "regret" without the future tense construction needed in the sentence.

Option E: regretted
This option is incorrect because the past tense "regretted" is not suitable for describing a future event.

The correct answer is Option A: will regret, which accurately conveys the future tense and the idea that the feeling of regret will occur as a consequence of being late to the party.

The sentence "Can you wait for me? It _________ very long." is discussing a future event and requires a negative form of the future tense. The most suitable option is "won't be," which correctly completes the sentence by indicating that the wait will not be very long.

Option B: haven't be
This option is incorrect. "Haven't be" is not a grammatically correct form for this context. The correct form should use the future tense "won't be."

Option C: aren't be
This option is incorrect. "Aren't be" is not grammatically correct in this context. The correct form should use the future tense "won't be."

Option D: didn't be
This option is incorrect. "Didn't be" is not appropriate for expressing a future action. The correct form should use the future tense "won't be."

The correct answer is Option A: won't be, which accurately conveys the future negative tense and completes the sentence in a grammatically correct manner.

The sentence "My son _________ very well at university this term because he _________ out late at night anymore." requires a combination of present and past tenses to express the idea that the son's good performance at university is influenced by the fact that he no longer stays out late at night. The most suitable option is "does/hasn't stayed," which correctly reflects this combination of tenses.

Option B: did/isn't staying
This option is incorrect. "Did/isn't staying" uses past tense followed by present tense, which doesn't fit the logical flow of the sentence.

Option C: has done/wasn't staying
This option is incorrect. "Has done/wasn't staying" is not the appropriate tense combination for expressing the cause-and-effect relationship described in the sentence.

Option D: was doing/hasn't been staying
This option is incorrect. "Was doing/hasn't been staying" is not the most suitable tense combination to convey the intended meaning of the sentence.

Option E: is doing/doesn't stay
This option is incorrect. "Is doing/doesn't stay" uses present tense followed by present tense, which doesn't convey the desired cause-and-effect relationship between the son's actions and his performance.

The correct answer is Option A: does/hasn't stayed, which accurately represents the appropriate tenses and effectively conveys the cause-and-effect relationship described in the sentence.

In this sentence, the subject "The computer" is singular, and therefore, the appropriate verb form to use is "is," which agrees with the singular subject.

Option B: are
This option is incorrect. "Are" is used with plural subjects, and it doesn't match the singular subject "The computer."

Option C: it's
This option is incorrect. "It's" is a contraction of "it is," and it doesn't fit grammatically in this context where a simple verb form is required.

Option D: aren't
This option is incorrect. "Aren't" is a contraction of "are not," and it is not appropriate for the sentence's singular subject and verb agreement.

The correct answer is Option A: is, which accurately matches the singular subject "The computer" and maintains proper verb agreement.

In this sentence, the action of seeing someone occurred in the past, specifically "last week." Therefore, the most suitable option is "came," which is the past tense form of the verb "come."

Option A: comes
This option is incorrect. "Comes" is the present tense form of the verb and does not match the past timeframe indicated in the sentence.

Option B: will come
This option is incorrect. "Will come" is the future tense form of the verb and is not appropriate for describing an action that took place in the past.

Option D: has come
This option is incorrect. "Has come" is the present perfect tense, which is not suitable for indicating a specific past time reference ("last week") as required by the sentence.

The correct answer is Option C: came, which accurately reflects the past tense and fits the context of the sentence referring to an action that happened in the past ("last week").

The sentence "A black cow that ________ in the field for some time did not return home in the evening." suggests a continuous action that occurred before another past event. The most appropriate option is "had been grazing," which indicates that the cow was engaged in the continuous action of grazing in the field for some time prior to the evening when it did not return home.

Option A: grazes
This option is incorrect because it uses the present tense form, which is not suitable for the past context of the sentence.

Option B: was grazing
This option is incorrect as it does not convey the necessary past perfect aspect of the action described in the sentence.

Option D: grazed
This option is incorrect because it uses the simple past tense, which does not convey the continuous and ongoing nature of the action before the specified time.

The correct answer is Option C: had been grazing, which accurately reflects the past perfect continuous tense needed to convey the intended meaning of the sentence.

The question "Where is the new student from?" seeks information about the origin of the new student. The most suitable reply is "He is from Bursa," which directly provides the required information about the student's place of origin.

Option A: He is coming from Bursa
This option is incorrect because it indicates an ongoing action of the student's arrival, which is not relevant to the question about the student's origin.

Option C: He can come from Bursa
This option is incorrect as it suggests a possibility or ability, which is not the information requested in response to the question.

Option D: He came from Bursa
This option is incorrect because it uses the past tense "came," which is not appropriate for describing the current origin of the new student.

The correct answer is Option B: He is from Bursa, which provides a concise and accurate response to the question about the new student's origin.

The sentence "I saw an accident last night. Somebody called (past simple) an ambulance but nobody was injured (past simple) so the ambulance wasn't needed (past simple)." describes a sequence of events that happened in the past.

1. The first action is "Somebody called (past simple) an ambulance." This is a straightforward past action.
2. The second action is "nobody was injured (past simple)" indicating the state or condition after the accident.
3. The third action is "the ambulance wasn't needed (past simple)" indicating the outcome of the situation.

Option B: called; was injured; wasn't needed accurately represents this sequence of events in the past tense.

In Option A, "had called" (past perfect) suggests that the action of calling happened before another past action, which is not the case here.
In Option C, "had called" is suitable for the first action, but "was injured" and "wasn't needed" do not accurately reflect the sequence of events.
In Option D, "had called" is suitable for the first action, but "injured" (past simple) does not accurately describe the state after the accident, and "was not needed" is a less natural phrasing compared to "wasn't needed."

The correct answer is Option B: called; was injured; wasn't needed, which accurately represents the sequence of events and maintains proper tense agreement.