Past Tense

 

PAST TENSE FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS (20 QUESTIONS)

1. She ___ the door before she left the house.

A. locks
B. locked
C. had locked
D. was locking

Answer: C. had locked (Past Perfect – action completed before another past action)

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2. We ___ dinner when the guests arrived.

A. eat
B. ate
C. were eating
D. had eaten

Answer: C. were eating (Past Continuous – ongoing action interrupted)

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3. He ___ the exam before the time was over.

A. finishes
B. finished
C. had finished
D. was finishing

Answer: C. had finished (Past Perfect – earlier past action)

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4. They ___ football when it started raining.

A. play
B. played
C. were playing
D. had played

Answer: C. were playing (Past Continuous – action in progress)

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5. I ___ him at the bus stop yesterday.

A. see
B. saw
C. had seen
D. was seeing

Answer: B. saw (Past Simple – completed action at specific past time)

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6. She ___ for two hours before the doctor arrived.

A. waits
B. waited
C. had waited
D. had been waiting

Answer: D. had been waiting (Past Perfect Continuous – action duration before another past event)

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7. The train ___ before we reached the station.

A. leaves
B. left
C. had left
D. was leaving

Answer: C. had left (Past Perfect – earlier past action)

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8. He ___ a book while his sister was sleeping.

A. reads
B. read
C. was reading
D. had read

Answer: C. was reading (Past Continuous – action in progress at a past time)

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9. We ___ in Kathmandu for five years before moving abroad.

A. live
B. lived
C. had lived
D. had been living

Answer: D. had been living (Past Perfect Continuous – ongoing action before another past action)

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10. She ___ the letter before posting it.

A. writes
B. wrote
C. had written
D. was writing

Answer: C. had written (Past Perfect – completed action before another past event)

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11. The children ___ in the park all evening.

A. play
B. played
C. were playing
D. had played

Answer: C. were playing (Past Continuous – continuous action in the past)

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12. He ___ English for many years before going to the UK.

A. learns
B. learned
C. had learned
D. had been learning

Answer: D. had been learning (Past Perfect Continuous – long-duration past action)

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13. I ___ my homework when the power went out.

A. do
B. did
C. was doing
D. had done

Answer: C. was doing (Past Continuous – interrupted action)

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14. She ___ the movie already when I called her.

A. watches
B. watched
C. had watched
D. was watching

Answer: C. had watched (Past Perfect – completed before another past event)

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15. They ___ loudly before the teacher entered the class.

A. talk
B. talked
C. were talking
D. had been talking

Answer: D. had been talking (Past Perfect Continuous – continuous action before another past action)

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16. We ___ the rules before starting the game.

A. understand
B. understood
C. had understood
D. were understanding

Answer: C. had understood (Past Perfect – action completed before another past event)

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17. He ___ TV at 9 p.m. yesterday.

A. watches
B. watched
C. was watching
D. had watched

Answer: C. was watching (Past Continuous – action in progress at a past time)

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18. She ___ all night, so she looked tired.

A. studies
B. studied
C. had studied
D. had been studying

Answer: D. had been studying (Past Perfect Continuous – duration emphasized before another past event)

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19. The meeting ___ before I arrived.

A. starts
B. started
C. had started
D. was starting

Answer: C. had started (Past Perfect – action completed before another past action)

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20. They ___ for the bus for a long time before it came.

A. wait
B. waited
C. had waited
D. had been waiting

Answer: D. had been waiting (Past Perfect Continuous – action duration before another past event)

 

Past Tense

A. PAST SIMPLE (1–10)

1. She ___ the report before the meeting started.
   A. completes
   B. completed
   C. has completed
   D. had completed
2. We ___ a movie last night.
   A. watch
   B. watched
   C. have watched
   D. had watched
3. He ___ his keys on the table yesterday.
   A. leaves
   B. left
   C. has left
   D. had left
4. They ___ football after school.
   A. play
   B. played
   C. were playing
   D. have played
5. I ___ him at the market this morning.
   A. see
   B. saw
   C. have seen
   D. had seen
6. The train ___ late due to heavy rain.
   A. arrive
   B. arrived
   C. has arrived
   D. was arriving
7. She ___ her homework carefully.
   A. does
   B. did
   C. has done
   D. had done
8. He ___ a speech at the ceremony.
   A. gives
   B. gave
   C. has given
   D. was giving
9. We ___ our grandparents last weekend.
   A. visit
   B. visited
   C. have visited
   D. had visited
10. The teacher ___ the lesson clearly.
    A. explains
    B. explained
    C. has explained
    D. had explained

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🔹 B. PAST CONTINUOUS (11–20)

11. She ___ dinner when the phone rang.
    A. cooks
    B. cooked
    C. was cooking
    D. had cooked
12. They ___ outside when it started raining.
    A. play
    B. played
    C. were playing
    D. had played
13. I ___ TV while my brother was studying.
    A. watch
    B. watched
    C. was watching
    D. had watched
14. He ___ a book at 8 p.m. yesterday.
    A. reads
    B. read
    C. was reading
    D. had read
15. We ___ the road when the accident happened.
    A. cross
    B. crossed
    C. were crossing
    D. had crossed
16. She ___ music during the journey.
    A. listens
    B. listened
    C. was listening
    D. had listened
17. The children ___ in the park all evening.
    A. play
    B. played
    C. were playing
    D. had played
18. He ___ notes while the teacher was explaining.
    A. writes
    B. wrote
    C. was writing
    D. had written
19. I ___ breakfast when he arrived.
    A. have
    B. had
    C. was having
    D. had had
20. They ___ loudly during the class.
    A. talk
    B. talked
    C. were talking
    D. had talked

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C. PAST PERFECT (21–30)

21. She ___ the work before the boss arrived.
    A. finishes
    B. finished
    C. had finished
    D. has finished
22. We ___ dinner before the guests came.
    A. eat
    B. ate
    C. had eaten
    D. have eaten
23. He ___ the ticket earlier, so he entered easily.
    A. buys
    B. bought
    C. had bought
    D. has bought
24. They ___ the match before it started raining.
    A. win
    B. won
    C. had won
    D. have won
25. I ___ the movie already when you called me.
    A. watch
    B. watched
    C. had watched
    D. have watched
26. She ___ the keys before leaving the house.
    A. forgets
    B. forgot
    C. had forgotten
    D. has forgotten
27. The train ___ before we reached the station.
    A. leaves
    B. left
    C. had left
    D. has left
28. He ___ his homework before going out.
    A. completes
    B. completed
    C. had completed
    D. has completed
29. We ___ the rules before playing the game.
    A. understand
    B. understood
    C. had understood
    D. have understood
30. She ___ the letter before posting it.
    A. writes
    B. wrote
    C. had written
    D. has written

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D. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (31–40)

31. She ___ for two hours before the exam started.
    A. studies
    B. studied
    C. had been studying
    D. has been studying
32. They ___ all day when it began to snow.
    A. work
    B. worked
    C. had been working
    D. have been working
33. He ___ English for five years before moving abroad.
    A. learns
    B. learned
    C. had been learning
    D. has been learning
34. We ___ for the bus for a long time.
    A. wait
    B. waited
    C. had been waiting
    D. have been waiting
35. She ___ since morning, so she looked tired.
    A. runs
    B. ran
    C. had been running
    D. has been running
36. The children ___ in the sun before it rained.
    A. play
    B. played
    C. had been playing
    D. have been playing
37. He ___ hard before he got the job.
    A. tries
    B. tried
    C. had been trying
    D. has been trying
38. I ___ all night before the exam day.
    A. study
    B. studied
    C. had been studying
    D. have been studying
39. She ___ at the company for years before quitting.
    A. works
    B. worked
    C. had been working
    D. has been working
40. They ___ loudly for hours before the teacher came.
    A. talk
    B. talked
    C. had been talking
    D. have been talking

 

A. PAST SIMPLE (1–10)

1. B. completed
   → Finished action before another past time.
2. B. watched
   → Specific past time: last night.
3. B. left
   → Action happened yesterday.
4. B. played
   → Finished past action.
5. B. saw
   → Past form of see.
6. B. arrived
   → Completed action in the past.
7. B. did
   → Simple past of do.
8. B. gave
   → Past form of give.
9. B. visited
   → Time expression: last weekend.
10. B. explained
    → Finished past action.

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B. PAST CONTINUOUS (11–20)

11. C. was cooking
    → Ongoing action interrupted by another past action.
12. C. were playing
    → Action in progress when rain started.
13. C. was watching
    → Parallel past action.
14. C. was reading
    → Action happening at a specific past time.
15. C. were crossing
    → Longer action interrupted.
16. C. was listening
    → Ongoing activity in the past.
17. C. were playing
    → Continuous action.
18. C. was writing
    → Action in progress.
19. C. was having
    → Correct past continuous structure.
20. C. were talking
    → Ongoing past action.

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C. PAST PERFECT (21–30)

21. C. had finished
    → Action completed before another past action.
22. C. had eaten
    → Dinner finished before guests arrived.
23. C. had bought
    → Earlier past action.
24. C. had won
    → First action happened earlier.
25. C. had watched
    → Already completed before a call.
26. C. had forgotten
    → Forgetting happened earlier.
27. C. had left
    → Train departed before arrival.
28. C. had completed
    → Homework done earlier.
29. C. had understood
    → Understanding came before playing.
30. C. had written
    → Writing completed first.

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D. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (31–40)

31. C. had been studying
    → Action continued for a duration before another past event.
32. C. had been working
    → Long-duration activity.
33. C. had been learning
    → Ongoing action over years.
34. C. had been waiting
    → Continuous waiting in the past.
35. C. had been running
    → Cause-effect relationship.
36. C. had been playing
    → Action continued until another past event.
37. C. had been trying
    → Effort over time.
38. C. had been studying
    → Duration emphasized.
39. C. had been working
    → Long-term action before quitting.
40. C. had been talking
    → Continuous activity before interruption.