Level 1
Tenses MCQs set 2 for OTS General Posts English — 20 solved questions.
Q1. Choose the correct punctuation. History it has been said is the essence of innumerable biographies.
Answer: History, it has been said, is the essence of innumerable biographies.
Explanation: The parenthetical phrase "it has been said" must be set off by commas on both sides to indicate it is a non-essential interruption within the sentence.
Q2. Choose the voice of the following sentence: A present has been bought for our teacher.
Answer: We have bought a present for our teacher.
Explanation: "A present has been bought" is present perfect passive; the active equivalent requires present perfect active: "We have bought a present for our teacher."
Q3. Select the correct active form of the given sentence: "The strike has been called off by the workers."
Answer: The workers have called off the strike.
Explanation: "Has been called off" is present perfect passive, so the active voice uses present perfect active: "have called off."
Q4. Choose the sentence using the present perfect tense correctly.
Answer: She has completed the project.
Explanation: The present perfect tense is formed with "has/have + past participle"; "has completed" correctly follows this pattern.
Q5. Which sentence uses the past continuous tense correctly?
Answer: I was reading when he called me.
Explanation: Past continuous tense is formed with "was/were + verb-ing"; "I was reading when he called me" correctly shows an ongoing past action interrupted by another event.
Q6. Identify the correct use of simple future tense.
Answer: She will go to the market.
Explanation: Simple future tense is formed with "will + base verb"; "she will go" correctly demonstrates this structure.
Q7. Choose the sentence with correct present perfect continuous tense.
Answer: He has been working here since 2020.
Explanation: Present perfect continuous uses "have/has been + verb-ing" with "since" for a point in time; "has been working since 2020" is the correct form.
Q8. Which tense is used in: "She had finished her homework before he arrived"?
Answer: Past perfect and past simple
Explanation: "Had finished" is past perfect tense, used for an action completed before another past action; "arrived" is simple past - together they show sequence of past events.
Q9. Fill in the blank: She _____ working here for five years.
Answer: has been
Explanation: "Has been working" is present perfect continuous, used for an action that started in the past and continues to the present - here indicated by "for five years."
Q10. Which sentence uses the present perfect tense correctly?
Answer: I have gone to the market
Explanation: Present perfect tense is formed with "have/has + past participle"; the past participle of "go" is "gone," not "went," making "have gone" the correct form.
Q11. Which tense is used in: "She has been reading for two hours"?
Answer: Present Perfect Progressive
Explanation: "Has been reading" uses "has been + present participle," which is the structure of present perfect progressive (continuous), indicating an ongoing action.
Q12. Which tense is used in: "They had finished the work before noon"?
Answer: Past Perfect
Explanation: Past perfect tense ("had + past participle") is used for an action completed before another past event; "had finished" indicates completion before noon.
Q13. He _____ for three hours without a break when he finally stopped.
Answer: had been working
Explanation: Past perfect continuous ("had been + verb-ing") is used for an action that was ongoing over a period in the past and then stopped; it emphasises duration before a past event.
Q14. She told me that she _____ tired.
Answer: was
Explanation: In reported speech, the present tense "is" backshifts to the past tense "was" when the reporting verb is in the past tense.
Q15. Neither the teacher nor the students _____ informed.
Answer: were
Explanation: With "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the noun closest to it; since "students" is plural, the verb is "were."
Q16. He has been _____ this project for six months.
Answer: working
Explanation: Present perfect continuous uses "has/have been + present participle"; "has been working" correctly describes an ongoing activity from the past to now.
Q17. The police _____ investigating the case thoroughly.
Answer: are
Explanation: "Police" is treated as a plural noun in English, referring to the force collectively; it therefore takes the plural verb "are."
Q18. Identify the tense error: "She has went to the market yesterday."
Answer: "has went" should be "went"
Explanation: "Has went" is incorrect; with "has" (present perfect auxiliary), the past participle "gone" is needed - but with "yesterday" (simple past context), the correct form is simply "went."
Q19. Which is the correct use of "loath"?
Answer: She was loath to admit her mistake.
Explanation: "Loath" is an adjective meaning reluctant or unwilling; "was loath to admit" correctly uses it as a predicate adjective following a linking verb.
Q20. Identify the error in: "He has been working since three hours."
Answer: "since" should be "for"
Explanation: "Since" is used with a specific point in time (since 3 o'clock); "for" is used with a duration of time (for three hours) - the sentence gives a duration, so "for" is correct.