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Verb Tenses

Verb tenses CEFR B2 Topic: Verb tenses across everyday life, work, health, technology, relationships, money, the environment and travel

Time After Time: Mastering Verb Tenses

What this tests: choosing and forming the right tense from the clues in the sentence — time words, the order of events, how long something lasts, and the passive.

Instructions

For questions 1–8, complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. My neighbour Tom (drill) through the wall since early this morning, and the noise still hasn't stopped, so I can't concentrate on my report.

2. By the time the manager arrived, the team (rehearse) the presentation for the third time, so they felt confident about the meeting.

3. David's hands were covered in paint because he (paint) the fence for two hours when the sudden rain forced him to stop halfway through.

4. It was the first time the company's servers (breach) by such a sophisticated virus, so the IT team had never dealt with anything like it.

5. So far, I (save) exactly half of the money I need for my new laptop, so with a bit of luck I'll have the rest by December.

6. By the time the new regulations take effect in 2030, scientists (assess) the full impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems.

7. While Sam (text) a long message to his girlfriend, his phone suddenly died, leaving the text unsent in his drafts folder.

8. Before Maria (go) to the gym tomorrow morning, she will stretch for ten minutes to warm up.

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🎬 Video walkthrough

This exercise read aloud, sentence by sentence: a pause to answer each question, the hint after the pause, then the answer and why. It gives the answers — try the exercise first.

9 min. All video walkthroughs