MCQ
Tenses — Past (simple/continuous/perfect/perfect-continuous) MCQ - Practice Questions with Answers
Solve 14 Tenses — Past (simple/continuous/perfect/perfect-continuous) questions for RAS/RPSC preparation.
Practice questions
Q1Read the sentences and choose the incorrect one.
In a 'choose the incorrect one' question, the keyed option must contain the error. A past-time sequence requires consistent tense reference. In Option C, 'Before the notice was issued' sets a past context, but 'publishes' is present tense; it should be 'published' or 'had published'.
Q2Assertion (A): The sentence 'She had been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes when it started to rain' is in the past perfect continuous tense. Reason (R): The structure 'had been + verb-ing' shows an action that continued up to a point in the past.
The past perfect continuous is formed with 'had been + verb-ing' and shows an action continuing up to a past point. In the assertion, 'had been waiting' follows this structure; 'for twenty minutes' gives duration, and 'when it started to rain' gives the later past point. Therefore both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A.
Q3Assertion (A): 'He had been waiting for two hours when the bus arrived' is grammatically correct. Reason (R): The past perfect continuous is used for an action that continued for a period before another past action.
Use the past perfect continuous for an action that continued for a period before another past action. The cue 'for two hours' gives the duration, and 'when the bus arrived' gives the later past event. Therefore, A is true, R is true, and R correctly explains the use of 'had been waiting'.
Q4Read the following statements and choose the correct option. Statement 1: We use the simple past for a completed action at a definite past time. Statement 2: We normally use the present perfect with yesterday when the action is finished. Statement 3: We use the past continuous for an action that was in progress at a past moment.
The simple past is used for completed actions at a definite past time, and the past continuous is used for an action in progress at a past moment. The cues are definite past time in Statement 1 and in progress at a past moment in Statement 3. Statement 2 is false because yesterday is a finished-time adverb and requires the simple past, not the present perfect. Therefore, only Statements 1 and 3 are correct.
Q5Choose the simple past verb form to complete the sentence: The office clerk ______ the register yesterday evening.
Use the simple past for a completed action at a definite finished time. The cue 'yesterday evening' fixes the time in the past, and the stem specifically asks for the simple past form. Therefore 'updated' is the only correct choice.
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More questions
6Which sentence is incorrect?
7Match List I with List II and choose the correct option. List I: 1. I had locked the cupboard before I left. 2. The typist was preparing the draft at noon. 3. He worked in Jaipur in 2022. 4. They had been waiting for two hours when the bus arrived. List II: a. Past action in progress at a specific past time b. Completed action at a definite past time c. Earlier completed action before another past action d. Duration continuing up to a past point
8Match List I with List II and choose the correct option. List I: 1. She wrote the report. 2. She was writing the report. 3. She had written the report. 4. She had been writing the report for an hour. List II: a. Past perfect continuous b. Simple past c. Past perfect d. Past continuous
9Read the Assertion and Reason and choose the correct option. Assertion (A): The sentence He had been working in the office for six hours when the power failed is grammatically correct. Reason (R): The past perfect continuous is used to show an action that continued for a period up to a point in the past.
10Choose the most appropriate option to complete the sentence. By the time the clerk reached the office, the accountant ______ the cash book.
11Choose the tense form that correctly shows the register was already complete when the officer arrived: By the time the officer arrived for inspection, the clerk ______ the register.
12Match List I with List II and choose the correct answer. List I: 1. The typist had finished the letter before noon. 2. The typist was finishing the letter at noon. 3. The typist had been finishing the letter for an hour when the power failed. 4. The typist finished the letter at noon. List II: P. Past continuous Q. Simple past R. Past perfect continuous S. Past perfect
13Which sentence correctly uses the past continuous tense to show an action in progress when another past action occurred?
14Identify the grammatically correct sentence that shows an action in progress when another action interrupted it.