Tenses & sequence of tenses MCQ — 12 Practice Questions with Answers

Explanation

The phrase "By the time the audit team arrives next Monday" sets a future reference point. The expression "for nearly three weeks" shows duration continuing up to that point. For an action that will be in progress for a period before a future time, English uses the future perfect continuous: "will have been working on". The present perfect continuous would stop at the present, and the past perfect continuous would need a past reference point. The simple future lacks the completed-duration idea.

Explanation

Sentence d uses "has approved" to show that a past decision has a present consequence: printing can begin. Sentence a uses "had locked" for the action completed before another past event, so it is past perfect. Sentence b contains a future main clause, but the time clause after "when" uses the simple present: "reaches". Sentence c narrates a past event vividly in the present tense, which is the historical present. Therefore the correct matching is 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c.

Explanation

The phrase 'By the time ... next month' sets a future reference point, and 'for nearly six weeks' stresses duration continuing up to that point. The correct tense is therefore the future perfect continuous: 'will have been examining'. It shows that the audit team's examination will start before the committee submits the report and will continue until, or nearly until, that future moment. The future continuous lacks the completed-duration idea, while present and past perfect forms attach the action to the wrong time frame.

Explanation

In indirect speech, a past reporting verb often causes backshift, but this rule is not applied mechanically to universal truths, scientific facts, or permanent states. The cue is the factual statement "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius under normal pressure." It is not a one-time past event; it remains true at the time of reporting. Therefore the simple present "boils" is retained after "said that". Options with "boiled", "has boiled", or "had boiled" change the time reference and are not the best standard form.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: future real conditions usually take present simple in the if-clause, as in 'If he arrives, we shall begin.' Statement 2 is wrong because an unreal present condition uses 'would' plus the base verb, for example, 'If he knew, he would act.' The form 'would have' plus past participle belongs to a third conditional result. Statement 3 is also correct: a mixed conditional can link a past condition to a present result, such as 'If she had prepared, she would be confident now.'