Think you’re pretty good with tenses? I thought I had mastered them, yet when I tried to do this quiz, I made two mistakes! And I wrote it myself… 😦 Oh, well, that shows you, doesn’t it?  

So just a little warning, this exercise is for advanced students of English. If tenses sound like Chinese to you, you need to start reading about tenses on the blog. Start with present simple.

Gisela Giardino

Do this quiz online here.

1. He ___________ (not see) his kids often since he ____________ (divorced) last Christmas.

2. I ______________ (may not be able) to recognize the client, as this is the first time we meet.

3. At 5 pm yesterday, I ___________ (mow) the lawn.

4. Who ____________ (tell) you I’m pregnant?

5. Yoshi ____________ (work) for Philips all his life, but his wife __________ (struggle) to find a steady job.

6. I ___________ (see) that cat when I ____________ (cross) the street and the next time it _____________ (be) dead.

7. Where ____________ (usually spend) your holidays? I ___________ (spend) my holidays in many places, but this summer _____________ (be) was my first time in Panama.

8. Sean ___________ (try) to lose weight, but so far he _____________ (have) little success.

9. When we ____________ (be) ready to buy, the agent _____________ (notify) us that he __________ (sell) the house to someone else!

10. According to a legend, the composer Shostakovich ___________ (compose) some of his best music after he _____________ (sustain) a brain injury in Leningrad in 1941.

11. He never ___________ (remove) the metal fragment in his brain because he _____________ (claim) that when he _____________ (tilt) his head, he could hear music.

12. Sue Townsend _____________ (dictate) her last books as she ____________ (be unable) to write due to blindness.

13. Yesterday I _____________ (forget) my jacket, but today I ____________ (not forget).

14. When _____________ you (learn) about Helen’s illness? Ha, I already _____________ (visit) her in hospital this morning.

15. All the TV channels ________ (broadcast) the story about the bombing.

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