Verb tenses

Past simple, present, future, present perfect, past progressive

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Try each question. If you're stuck, leave it and come back. The answer key is on the last page.

1
Write the past tense: The dog ___ (bark) loudly at the postman. The dog ___ loudly at the postman.
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2
Which sentence is in the future tense? A) She will visit her grandma next week. B) She visited her grandma last week. C) She visits her grandma every week. D) She was visiting her grandma.
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3
Write the present perfect: I ___ (eat) my lunch already. I ___ my lunch already.
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4
Which is the past tense of 'walk'? A) walks B) walked C) walking D) walk
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5
Which sentence uses the past progressive (past continuous) tense? A) The children were playing in the garden. B) The children played in the garden. C) The children play in the garden. D) The children have played in the garden.
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6
Is this sentence in the present perfect tense? 'She has written three letters today.' The sentence 'She has written three letters today' is in the present perfect tense. A) True B) False
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7
Put these verb forms in order from past to future: will arrive, arrived, is arriving, was arriving, has arrived Put these in order: will arrive, arrived, is arriving, was arriving, has arrived
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8
Which sentence correctly uses the present perfect with 'since'? A) I have lived here since 2019. B) I lived here since 2019. C) I am living here since 2019. D) I was living here since 2019.
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9
Is there a tense error in this sentence? 'Yesterday, I have gone to the cinema with my friends.' The sentence 'Yesterday, I have gone to the cinema with my friends' contains a tense error. A) True B) False
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10
Fill the gap with the correct tense: By the time we arrived, the film ___ (already/start). By the time we arrived, the film ___.
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Answer key

Verb tenses · for parents and teachers

1
barked
'Bark' becomes 'barked' in the past simple tense. Regular verbs add -ed.
2
She will visit her grandma next week.
'She will visit' uses 'will + verb' which signals the future tense. 'Next week' confirms it hasn't happened yet.
3
have eaten
The present perfect is 'have eaten' (have + past participle). It shows a completed action relevant to the present - the lunch is gone now.
4
walked
'Walked' is the past tense of 'walk'.
5
The children were playing in the garden.
'Were playing' is the past progressive: 'were' + verb-ing. It describes an ongoing action in the past.
6
True
'Has written' is present perfect (has + past participle 'written'). It links a past action to the present time - she wrote them today and the day is still going on.
7
was arriving, arrived, has arrived, is arriving, will arrive
The order is: was arriving (past progressive), arrived (past simple), has arrived (present perfect - links past to now), is arriving (present), will arrive (future).
8
I have lived here since 2019.
'Since' requires the present perfect because the action started in 2019 and is still true now. 'Have lived' correctly shows this ongoing connection between past and present.
9
True
Yes, there is an error. 'Yesterday' needs the past simple: 'I went to the cinema.' The present perfect ('have gone') is not used with specific past time words like 'yesterday'.
10
had already started
'Had already started' is the past perfect. It shows that the film starting happened BEFORE the arrival. The past perfect shows an action completed before another past event.