1
"I ________ (finish) my assignment this morning, and now I'm relaxing and enjoying this evening."
finished - completed action
drop: "Erika ________ her bag while she was getting into her car."
dropped - A single completed event interrupting an ongoing background activity uses the past simple
give: "I wrote Clara an email to thank her for the present she ________ me for my birthday."
had given - refers to an event mentioned out of chronological order that happened earlier
work: "You look exhausted! Have you ________ in the garden all day?"
been working - The present perfect continuous expresses an activity in progress until recently
clean: "By the time you get home, I ________ the house from top to bottom."
will have cleaned - The future perfect refers to an action completed before a specific point in the future
She hasn't been able to play tennis since she ________ (break) her arm
broke - (A time clause with since referencing a specific past point takes the past simple.)
go: "She got up when the alarm clock ________ off."
went - Two past completed actions happening in immediate succession use the past simple
fail: "The two leaders agreed to meet, even though earlier talks ________ to reach an agreement."
had failed/failed - When the chronological sequence is clear from context/adverbs, either past perfect or past simple is possible.
know: "Have you ________ each other long?"
known - Stative verbs describing unchanging states cannot be used in continuous tenses
carry: "When it goes into orbit, the spacecraft ________ 30 kilos of plutonium."
will be carrying - The future continuous is used for an activity predicted to already be in progress at a future point
"I'll contact you the minute I ________ (get) my exam results"
have got - In time clauses with the minute/second/moment referring to the future, use the present perfect or present simple
"When I ________ (learn) to drive, I was living with my parents."
was learning - The past continuous emphasizes the activity was in progress, whereas learned emphasizes completion.
"I have met him before" means that I was sure that I ________ him before.
had met -Reported speech shifts the present perfect into the past perfect
decrease: "Prices ________ by 7%."
have decreased - When focusing on the specific result of an activity rather than the ongoing process, use the present perfect
work: "Next year, I ________ in the company for 30 years."
will have been working - The future perfect continuous emphasizes duration up to a point in the future
"Have you met any of your neighbours since you ________ (live) here?"
have lived - The present perfect is used in the since-clause because the situation extends until the present
"When Kata was in hospital, we ________ (visit) her twice a day."
were visiting - The past continuous can emphasize that repeated actions occurred over a limited, temporary period.
drive: "We bought a new car last month. We ________ my parents' old car for ages, but it started to fall apart.
had driven - Establishes the preceding background situation before the story continues in the past simple
meet: "How many times ________ him before yesterday?"
had you met - When stating how many times something occurred before a past time, use past perfect simple, not continuous
stay : "________ with us again tonight?"
Will you be staying - The future continuous asks politely about existing plans without indicating an invitation or intention.
"It was the first time I ________ (talk) to Dimitra outside the office."
had talked - After It was the first time..., use the past perfect.
"We ________ (mean) to call in and see you, but Marc wasn't feeling well."
were meaning - Verbs of intention like mean, plan, intend, hope can be used in the past continuous to indicate intentions not carried out
"I ________ (hope) to visit the gallery before I left Florence, but it was closed."
had hoped - Past perfect is used to talk about past intentions that were not realized
own: "We _____only ________ the car for six weeks when the clutch broke."
had wned -Even when stating duration up to a past time, stative verbs must take the past perfect simple.
"We could borrow Joe's car; he ________ (use) it today since he cycled to work."
won't be using - (The future continuous can express a deduction or belief about an activity happening around now