Grammar Basics
English Tenses Exercises with Explained Answers
Published · Updated · 3 min read
Choose a tense by asking two questions: when is the situation, and how does the speaker view it — as a habit, an action in progress, or something connected to a later point. Time words help, but the whole context decides the answer.
Quick tense check
| Meaning | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Habit or general fact | Present simple | She walks to work. |
| In progress now or around now | Present continuous | She is walking to work today. |
| Past situation connected to now | Present perfect | She has lived here since May. |
| Finished at a stated past time | Past simple | She moved here last year. |
| In progress at a past moment | Past continuous | She was cooking at eight. |
| Decision, prediction or promise | Future with will | I will call you later. |
I have lost my keys, so I can’t open the door.
💡 The past loss matters now, so the present perfect fits.
I lost my keys yesterday, but I found them later.
💡 Yesterday is a finished past time, so the past simple fits.
Water boils at 100°C at sea level.
💡 A general fact uses the present simple.
Common mistakes to watch
❌ I have seen her yesterday.
✅ I saw her yesterday.
In standard English, a finished past time phrase normally takes the past simple.
❌ I am knowing the answer.
✅ I know the answer.
Know usually describes a state, so it rarely takes a continuous form.
❌ He work in a bank.
✅ He works in a bank.
A third-person singular subject takes -s in the present simple.
Can one sentence have more than one correct tense?
Yes. Different tenses can be grammatical with different meanings. That is why each question above gives context to fix the intended meaning.
Is the present perfect used the same way everywhere?
Not exactly. American English sometimes uses the past simple with already, just and yet where British English prefers the present perfect. Both are understood.
Grammar reference: Cambridge on tenses and time. The lesson explanations and practice questions are original.