🚀 100% Scoring Guide: 40 MCQs on Tenses with Answers & Explanations (UGC NET, SSC, Banking Exams)

Struggling with tenses in English grammar? You’re not alone. Tenses are one of the most frequently asked topics in competitive exams. This post gives you 40 carefully designed MCQs with clear explanations to help you master tenses quickly.

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📘 Quick Revision: Types of Tenses

Tense	Example
Present Simple	She writes
Present Continuous	She is writing
Present Perfect	She has written
Past Simple	She wrote
Past Continuous	She was writing
Past Perfect	She had written
Future Simple	She will write

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✅ Tenses MCQs (1–20)

1. She _____ to school every day.

A. go
B. goes
C. going
D. gone
✅ Answer: B
Explanation: Habitual action → present simple.

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2. They _____ football now.

A. play
B. played
C. are playing
D. plays
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Action happening now → present continuous.

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3. He _____ his homework already.

A. finish
B. finished
C. has finished
D. finishing
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Completed action with present relevance → present perfect.

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4. She _____ yesterday.

A. come
B. came
C. comes
D. coming
✅ Answer: B
Explanation: Past action → past simple.

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5. We _____ dinner when he arrived.

A. have
B. had
C. were having
D. having
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Ongoing past action → past continuous.

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6. He _____ before I reached.

A. leaves
B. left
C. had left
D. leaving
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Earlier past action → past perfect.

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7. She _____ tomorrow.

A. go
B. goes
C. will go
D. going
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Future action → simple future.

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8. I _____ here since morning.

A. am sitting
B. have been sitting
C. sit
D. sat
✅ Answer: B
Explanation: Action continuing → present perfect continuous.

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9. By next year, he _____ his degree.

A. completes
B. completed
C. will have completed
D. completing
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Future perfect.

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10. She usually _____ early.

A. wake
B. wakes
C. waking
D. woke
✅ Answer: B
Explanation: Habit → present simple.

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(Continue…)

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✅ Tenses MCQs (21–40)

21. They _____ in Delhi for five years.

A. live
B. lived
C. have lived
D. living
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Duration till present → present perfect.

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22. He _____ TV when I called him.

A. watches
B. watched
C. was watching
D. watching
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Interrupted past action.

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23. She _____ the letter before he arrived.

A. writes
B. wrote
C. had written
D. writing
✅ Answer: C
Explanation: Past perfect.

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24. I _____ my work tomorrow.

A. finish
B. finished
C. will finish
D. finishing
✅ Answer: C

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25. They _____ lunch right now.

A. have
B. had
C. are having
D. having
✅ Answer: C

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26. He _____ there last year.

A. goes
B. went
C. gone
D. going
✅ Answer: B

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27. She _____ since 2020.

A. works
B. worked
C. has worked
D. working
✅ Answer: C

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28. We _____ when the bell rang.

A. study
B. studied
C. were studying
D. studying
✅ Answer: C

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29. He _____ just now.

A. leave
B. left
C. leaves
D. leaving
✅ Answer: B

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30. She _____ never seen this movie.

A. have
B. has
C. had
D. having
✅ Answer: B

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31. I _____ him yesterday.

A. see
B. saw
C. seen
D. seeing
✅ Answer: B

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32. They _____ already finished.

A. have
B. has
C. had
D. having
✅ Answer: A

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33. She _____ to the market now.

A. goes
B. going
C. is going
D. went
✅ Answer: C

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34. He _____ before she came.

A. leaves
B. left
C. had left
D. leaving
✅ Answer: C

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35. I _____ a book now.

A. read
B. reads
C. am reading
D. reading
✅ Answer: C

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36. They _____ football yesterday.

A. play
B. played
C. playing
D. plays
✅ Answer: B

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37. She _____ already eaten.

A. have
B. has
C. had
D. having
✅ Answer: B

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38. He _____ tomorrow.

A. comes
B. will come
C. came
D. coming
✅ Answer: B

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39. We _____ here for two hours.

A. sit
B. sat
C. have been sitting
D. sitting
✅ Answer: C

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40. She _____ when I entered.

A. sleeps
B. slept
C. was sleeping
D. sleeping
✅ Answer: C

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🎯 Common Mistakes Students Make

• Using past simple instead of present perfect
• Confusing past continuous vs past perfect
• Forgetting helping verbs (has/have/had)

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🔥 Exam Strategy

👉 Look for time indicators:

• yesterday → past
• now → present continuous
• since/for → perfect tense

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📌 Conclusion

Mastering tenses can significantly improve your grammar score. Practice these MCQs regularly to build accuracy and confidence.