Tenses: Verb tenses are tools that are used to express time. They refer to the time of action and tell the time and state of an action. present tense, past tense, and future time refer to the time of action and tell the time and state of an action.
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Tenses Exercises or Class 10 CBSE With Answers Pdf
Verb tenses are tools that are used to express time. They refer to the time of action and tell the time and state of an action.
Corresponding to the three divisions of time there are three tenses:
- the Present Tense—referring to present time
- the Past Tense—referring to past time
- the Future Tense-referring to a future time.
Each tense has four forms:
- Simple or Indefinite—it merely states an action or event. It does not say anything about the completeness of the action.
- Continuous or Progressive—it indicates that an action is in progress at a given time and is incomplete at the point of reference.
- Perfect—it indicates that the action is complete.
- Perfect Continuous—it indicates that an action has been in progress for a period of time.
The given passage has not been edited. Read the passage and edit it, underlining the errors committed in the passage. Write the correct word in the space provided.
| Hamburger lovers alert! Scientists think they had | (a) | ……………………………………… |
| discovered the remnants of our earliest meat-eating human ancestors. An Ethiopian student | (b) | ……………………………………… |
| found pieces of a skull while he worked | (c) | ……………………………………… |
| on a project with 40 scientists. Scientists said the creature could eat both meat | (d) | ……………………………………… |
| and bone marrow. Previously creatures did not used tools to cut their meat | (e) | ……………………………………… |
| so their diet were more limited. According to White, the addition | (f) | ……………………………………… |
| of meat to the diet, did not turned the | (g) | ……………………………………… |
| creatures into lions, but rather it enable them to kill larger animals for food. | (h) | ……………………………………… |
| The addition of meat and fat to the creature’s diet have many positive effects. Meat and | (i) | ……………………………………… |
| fat help the thinking powers of the brain and | (j) | ……………………………………… |
| broadened the diet. The improved diet helped creatures to survive | (k) | ……………………………………… |
| better and longer, and to began development toward modem humans. | (l) | ……………………………………… |
Answer:
(a) had – have;
(b) remain – remains;
(c) worked – was working;
(d) said – say;
(e) used – use;
(f) were – was;
(g) turned – turn;
(h) enable – enabled;
(i) have – had;
(j) help – helped;
(k) survived – survive;
(l) began – begin.
Study the table given below for the use of tenses:
| Tense | Simple/Indefinite | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect Continuous |
| Present | I teach in a school. He teaches in a school. Subject + 1st form of verb+(s/es) |
I am teaching in a school. Subject + is/am/ are + 1st form of verb+ing |
I have taught in school. Subject + has/have + 3rd form of verb |
I have been teaching in a school for six months. Subject + has/have + been + 1 st form form of verb+ing |
| Past | I taught in a school. Subject + 2nd form of verb |
I was teaching in a school. Subject + was/were + Subject + 1st form of verb + ing |
I had taught in school. Subject + had + 3rd form of verb |
I had been teaching in a school for six months when I had the accident. Subject + had + been + Subject + 1 st form of verb+ing |
| Future | I will teach in a school. Subject + will/shall + 1 st form of verb |
I will be teaching in a school. Subject + will/shall + be + 1 st form of verb + ing |
I will have taught in a school for two years in December. Subject + will + have + 3rd form of verb |
Present Tense
We use the Simple Present for the following:
| Simple Present | Example |
| things happening in the present | He is a pilot. |
| something that happens repeatedly | Moni helps her father. |
| a habit or routine | Mehak goes to school by bus. |
| describe something that is part of a given situation | In summers, days are longer than nights. |
| give instructions or offer advice | Shut the window. |
| state a permanent truth | The sunrises in the east. |
| to make future time reference when the event is part of a fixed time table | This year Christmas falls on a Sunday. Here comes the bus! |
| in exclamatory sentences | Dravid runs forward and takes a catch. |
| in commentaries | I see smoke. |
| instead of the present continuous with certain verbs | I have a pen. |
| Present Continuous | Example |
| to refer to something happening at the time of speaking | Please don’t disturb me, I am studying for an exam. |
| when we talk about something connected with the present time | These days more and more people are learning the use of computers. |
| when we refer to a situation that is more or less temporary | She is looking for her spectacles. |
| for an action that is planned for the near future | I am going to visit my grandmother today. |
| a persistent habit | My dog is rather silly; she is always looking out for an opportunity to run out of the house into the neighbor’s yard. |
| Verbs not used in continuous tense: | |
| perception: see, hear, smell, notice, recognize | |
| appearing: appear, look, seem | |
| emotion: want, wish, desire, feel, like, love, hate, hope, refuse, prefer | |
| thinking: think, suppose, believe, agree, understand, remember, forget, know | |
| possession: have, own, possess, belong to | |
| Present Perfect | Example |
| to indicate activities completed in the immediate past | He has just gone out. |
| to express past actions when no definite time is given | I have read The Diary of Anne Frank. He has eaten up all the biscuits. |
| to describe past events that have an impact on the present | I have cut my finger. |
| to denote an action that began in the past but continues up to today (using for, since, etc.) | I have known him for long. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Example |
| to refer to something that began in the past but is still happening at the time of speaking | I have been reading The Diary of Anne Frank for the last one week. |
Correct the tense form in the following sentences where necessary.
(a) Water is boiling at 100° Celsius at sea level.
(b) My friend dances gracefully.
(c) It rains, we can’t go out.
(d) The planets are going round the sun.
(e) These students are going for the Sports Meet.
(f) What does this pen costing?
(g) This book is about a man who is deserting his family and going to live on a Pacific Island.
(h) I am having a flat in Janakpuri.
(i) “What are you waiting for?” “I am waiting for the shop to open.”
(j) Do you recognized that man?
Answer:
(a) Water boils at 100 Celsius at sea level.
(b) My friend is dancing gracefully
(c) It is raining, we can’t go out.
(d) The planets go around the sun.
(e) no correction required
(f) What does this pen cost?
(g) This book is about a man who has deserted his family and goes on to live on a Pacific Island.
(h) I have a flat in Janakpuri
(i) no correction required
(j) Do you recognize that man.
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
The phenomenon of female infanticide is as old as many cultures, and (a) ……………………. (account) for millions of gender-selective deaths throughout history. It (b) ……………………. (remain) a critical concern in a number of developing countries today, notably in the two most populous countries on earth, China and India. In all cases, specifically female infanticide (c) ……………………. (reflect) the low status accorded to women in most parts of the world. It is arguably the most brutal and destructive manifestation of the anti-female bias that (d) ……………………. (pervade) patriarchal societies. It is closely linked to the phenomena of sex-selective abortion, which (e) ……………………. (target) the female foetus almost exclusively, and leads to the neglect of the girl child.
Answer:
(a) accounts
(b) remains
(c) reflects
(d) pervades
(e) targets
Complete the following sentences using the correct form of the verbs given in brackets.
(a) Poor fellow! I ……………………. (consider) him to be extremely unlucky.
(b) Research ……………………. (show) that cycling is a good exercise.
(c) My sister is a linguist. She ……………………. (speak) six languages fluently.
(d) Why ……………………. you ……………………. (not wear) your new dress?
(e) We ……………………. (always want) a house in the hills but we are unable to decide the exact place.
(f) It ……………… (rain) quite heavily. You can’t go out just yet.
(g) I……………… (know) him for most of my life.
(h) ……………. the guests…………….. (arrive)?
(i) The sales figures…………… (increase) for some time, but this fortnight there has been an all-time high.
(j) She…………….. (drive) since the age of eighteen.
Answer:
(a) consider;
(b) shows;
(c) speaks;
(d) are, not wearing;
(e) always wanted;
(f) rains;
(g) have known;
(h) have, arrived;
(i) increased;
(j) has been driving
Use of since and for
We use the Present Perfect Tense to say how long something has continued up to the present.
Read the questions and answers given here:
- How long have you been married? (1996)
- I have been married since 1996.
- How long have you worked at the bank? (two years)
- I have worked at the bank for two years.
- We use since when we give the beginning of time, for example, since 1996, since Tuesday.
- We use for when we give the period of time, for example, for a week, for two years.
Answer the following questions using for or since.
(a) How long have you lived in Delhi? (one year)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(b) How long has Malathy been teaching? (April)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(c) How long have they studied English? (a few months)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(d) How long has Ronit had his new computer? (last month)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(e) How long have Ravi’s friends been in town? (Monday)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(f) How long has it been raining? (several hours)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(g) How long has India been independent? (1947)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(h) How long has Priyanka had her new job? (a couple of days)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(i) How long has Sukriti known her English teacher? (September)
……………………………………………………………………………………
(j) How long have you been waiting here? (twenty minutes)
……………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
(a) I have lived in Delhi for one year.
(b) Malathy has been teaching since April
(c) They have studied for a few months.
(d) Ronit has had his computer since last month
(e) Ravi’s friends have been here since Monday
(f) It has been raining for several hours
(g) India has been independent since 1947
(h) Priyanka has had her new job since a couple of days.
(i) Sukriti has known her English teacher since September.
(j) I have been waiting here for twenty minutes.
Past Tense
| Past Indefinite | Example |
| an action completed in the past a past habit or a routine |
He left for Chennai yesterday. Last year he went to school by bus but now he walks to school. |
| Past Continuous | Example |
| to refer to something happening at the time of reference in the past when we talk about something that was a persistent habit in the past |
We were eating our dinner when the earthquake occurred. He was always grumbling. |
| Past Perfect | Example |
| to indicate the earlier of the two activities that happened in the past | The train had already left by the time I reached the station. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | Example |
| to refer to something that began in the past and continued up to a point of reference in the past | I had been reading Gulliver’s Travels for the last one week when he came to see me. |
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
The legal scrum dates back to 1994, when Trump (a) …………………….. (become) partners with a Japanese family that (b) …………………….. (buy) the ground under the building for $40 million. At the time, Trump (c) …………………….. (suffer) through the worst business slump of his career. His new partners, it turned out, were less than savoury. Kiiko Nakahara, along with her French-born husband, (d) …………………….. (charge) with fraud and forgery in France for stripping nine historic chateaux of valuable tapestries and furniture. Nakahara (e) …………………….. (also sue) by her father, Hideki Okoi, for entering into the Trump deal without the permission of their family-controlled real estate company.
Answer:
(a) became;
(b) bought;
(c) suffered;
(d) charged;
(e) also sued
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verb. (Use only the Present Perfect or Simple Past.)
(a) He …………………….. (live) in New Delhi for two years and then he …………………….. (go) to Chennai. (b) After I …………………….. (leave) school I cut my hair and …………………….. (wear) it short ever since. (c) She said that she …………………….. (will phone) me this morning but it is now 12.30 and she …………………….. (not phone) yet. (d) My car …………………….. (break) down yesterday but the mechanic …………………….. (repair) it. (e) I …………………….. (buy) a new house last year but I …………………….. (not sell) my old house yet.
Answer:
(a) lived, went;
(b) left, wore;
(c) will phone, has not phoned;
(d) broke, repaired, bought, have not sold off
Complete the passage using the correct form of the verb. (Use only the Simple Past or Past Continuous.)
I …………………….. (walk) about in Connaught Place when I …………………….. (realise) a man with a black beard, whom I had seen three times already that afternoon, …………………….. (follow) me. To make sure, I …………………….. (walk) on quickly, …………………….. (turn) right, then left and …………………….. (stop) suddenly at a shop window. In a few minutes the man with the beard …………………….. (appear) and …………………….. (stop) at another window. I …………………….. (go) on. The man …………………….. (follow). Whenever I …………………….. (stop), he …………………….. (stop) and whenever I …………………….. (start) walking, he …………………….. (start) too.
Answer:
I was walking about in Connaught Place when I realized a man with a black beard, whom I had seen three times already that afternoon, was following me. To make sure, I walked on quickly, turned right, then left and stopped suddenly at a shop window. In a few minutes the man with the beard had appeared and stopped at another window. I went on. The man followed. Whenever I was stopped, he would stopped and whenever I started walking he started too.
Complete the passage using the correct form of the verb. (Use only the Past Tense or Past Perfect Tense.)
I …………………….. (think) my train …………………….. (leave) at 11.30. But I …………………….. (be) very disappointed when I …………………….. (arrive) at the station and …………………….. (learn) that it …………………….. (already leave). I …………………….. (find) out later that the timetable I …………………….. (have) …………………….. (be) an old one.
Answer:
I thought my train would leave at 11:30. But I was very disappointed when I arrived at the station and learnt that it had already left. I found out later that the timetable I had was an old one.
Future Tense
In English, there is nothing like a separate Future Tense corresponding to the Present Tense and the Past Tense. The modal auxiliaries shall and will are used with the bare infinitive to refer to the future.
Future Time
Future Time is expressed in the following ways:
| will/shall + infinitive to denote future actions | We shall go for a picnic tomorrow. |
| is/am/are + going to + infinitive | He will reach by 5:30 p.m. We are going to play football this evening. |
| is/am/are + about to + infinitive | It is about to rain. |
| Simple Present (to express an unalterable plan) | The Prime Minister leaves for a 10-day tour of the tsunami-affected areas tomorrow. |
| Present Continuous (to denote the future) | Banana’s is opening a new branch in Amritsar. |
| will/shall + be+-ing (Present Participle) | We shall be going abroad some time next year. |
Complete the sentences given below using the appropriate form of the verb.
(a) The Jodhpur flight …………………….. (leave) at 4.50 p.m.
(b) Neighbor: Richie is running a fever.
Mother: I know. I …………………….. (take) him to the doctor this evening.
(c) Ravi: This box is very heavy. I can’t carry it upstairs alone.
Jatin: Here, I …………………….. (help) you.
(d) Father: I think I forgot to lock the car.
Preeti: Don’t worry, I …………………….. (go) and lock it.
(e) The Delhi Traffic Police …………………….. (launch) a drive to improve road safety conditions.
(f) A team …………………….. (arrive) from Berkley to study the problem.
(g) The Prime Minister …………………….. (leave) on a three-day tour of the south-east Asian countries on Monday.
(h) Take an umbrella if you are going out; it …………………….. (be) about to rain.
Answer:
(a) will leave;
(b) will take;
(c) will help;
(d) will go;
(e) will launch;
(f) will arrive;
(g) will leave;
(h) is
Use the correct form of the words given in brackets to complete the passage given below.
The Delhi Government …………………….. (plan) to send help to the …………………….. (plan) to send help to the tsunami victims in Chennai in two phases. Immediate help …………………….. (send) as part of a relief package. A long-term assistance package …………………….. (also work) out. A team …………………….. (go) to visit the affected areas to look into reconstruction work.
Answer:
The Delhi Government is planning to send help to the tsunami victims in Chennai in two phases. Immediate help will be sent as part of a relief package. A long – term assistance package will also be worked out. A team will go to visit the affected areas to look into reconstruction work.
Use the correct form of the words given in brackets to complete the passage given below.
Last Sunday when I …………………….. (return) home, I was shocked to find my house unlocked. Someone …………………….. (break) into my house in my absence. All the boxes …………………….. (be) open. I (check) my locker in which I …………………….. (put) my money, but it was nowhere to be seen. I. (report) the matter to the police. They …………………….. (take) some time to register my case. By that time the thief …………………….. (run) away.
Answer:
Last Sunday when I returned home, I was shocked to find my house unlocked. Someone broke into my house in my absence. All the boxes were open. I checked my locker in which I gut my money, but it was nowhere to be seen. I reported the matter to the police. They took some time to register my case. By that time the thief had run away.
Use the correct form of the words given in brackets to complete the passage given below.
A serious accident …………………….. (take) place yesterday when a speeding bus …………………….. (collide) with a car near Yamuna bridge. Two persons …………………….. (die) on the spot and one …………………….. (injure). The driver of the bus …………………….. (run) away from there. The car …………………….. (crush) to pieces. The people …………………….. (take) to the hospital. The police also …………………….. (reach) there.
Answer:
A serious accident took place yesterday when a speeding bus collided with a car near the Yamuna bridge. Two persons died on the spot and one injured. The driver of the bus ran away from there. The car crushed to pieces. The people were taken to the hospital. The police also reached there.