Tenses MCQ for Class 10, 9, 8, 11, 12 Tense MCQs Test Questions
Here is a complete compilation of Free Tenses MCQ for 10, 9, 8, 11, 12. English Grammar Topic – ‘Tense’. Students can practice here free Tenses MCQs for West Bengal Madhyamik, H.S, CBSE, ICSE as well as competitive exams like SSC, BANK etc . At the end of Multiple Choice Questions, Tense Worksheet with answer key has also been provided for your reference.
Tenses MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) with Answers for CBSE, H.S Class 10, 9, 8, 11, 12 also Tense for Competitive Exams English Grammar Topic
Easy Difficulty : Basic Tense Identification
1. Which tense is used in: "She eats an apple."?
A) Past Simple
B) Present Simple
C) Future Simple
D) Present Continuous
Answer: B
2. "They played football yesterday." is in which tense?
A) Present Simple
B) Past Simple
C) Future Simple
D) Past Continuous
Answer: B
3. Identify the tense: "I will go to school tomorrow."
A) Present Simple
B) Past Simple
C) Future Simple
D) Present Perfect
Answer: C
4. "He is reading a book." is in:
A) Present Continuous
B) Past Continuous
C) Future Continuous
D) Present Perfect
Answer: A
5. Which tense is used for habitual actions?
A) Present Simple
B) Past Perfect
C) Future Continuous
D) Present Perfect
Answer: A
6. "We were dancing at the party." is in:
A) Present Continuous
B) Past Continuous
C) Future Continuous
D) Past Simple
Answer: B
7. "She has finished her homework." is in:
A) Present Perfect
B) Past Perfect
C) Future Perfect
D) Present Simple
Answer: A
8. "They will have left by noon." is in:
A) Future Perfect
B) Past Perfect
C) Present Perfect
D) Future Continuous
Answer: A
9. "I had eaten before he arrived." is in:
A) Present Perfect
B) Past Perfect
C) Future Perfect
D) Past Simple
Answer: B
10. "The sun rises in the east." is in:
A) Present Simple (universal truth)
B) Past Simple
C) Future Simple
D) Present Continuous
Answer: A
Easy Difficulty : Basic Tense Identification (Negatives & Questions)
11. "Does she go to school every day?" is in:
A) Present Simple
B) Past Simple
C) Future Simple
D) Present Continuous
Answer: A
12. "They didn’t watch the movie." is in:
A) Present Simple (negative)
B) Past Simple (negative)
C) Future Simple (negative)
D) Present Perfect (negative)
Answer: B
13. "Were they sleeping at 10 PM?" is in:
A) Present Continuous
B) Past Continuous
C) Future Continuous
D) Past Simple
Answer: B
14. "He hasn’t finished his homework." is in:
A) Present Perfect (negative)
B) Past Perfect (negative)
C) Future Perfect (negative)
D) Present Simple (negative)
Answer: A
15. "Will you call me tomorrow?" is in:
A) Present Simple
B) Past Simple
C) Future Simple (question)
D) Present Continuous
Answer: C
16. "She isn’t eating right now." is in:
A) Present Continuous (negative)
B) Past Continuous (negative)
C) Future Continuous (negative)
D) Present Simple (negative)
Answer: A
17. "Had they left before you arrived?" is in:
A) Present Perfect
B) Past Perfect (question)
C) Future Perfect
D) Past Simple
Answer: B
18. "We won’t attend the party." is in:
A) Present Simple (negative)
B) Past Simple (negative)
C) Future Simple (negative)
D) Present Perfect (negative)
Answer: C
19. "Is it raining outside?" is in:
A) Present Continuous (question)
B) Past Continuous
C) Future Continuous
D) Present Simple
Answer: A
20. "They haven’t visited Paris yet." is in:
A) Present Perfect (negative)
B) Past Perfect
C) Future Perfect
D) Past Simple
Answer: A
21. "Did he play football yesterday?" is in:
A) Present Simple
B) Past Simple (question)
C) Future Simple
D) Present Continuous
Answer: B
22. "She wasn’t cooking when I called." is in:
A) Present Continuous (negative)
B) Past Continuous (negative)
C) Future Continuous
D) Past Simple
Answer: B
23. "Has she ever been to Japan?" is in:
A) Present Perfect (question)
B) Past Perfect
C) Future Perfect
D) Present Simple
Answer: A
24. "We aren’t going to the concert." is in:
A) Present Continuous (negative)
B) Past Continuous
C) Future Simple (negative)
D) Present Perfect
Answer: A
25. "Will they have finished by noon?" is in:
A) Future Perfect (question)
B) Past Perfect
C) Present Perfect
D) Future Simple
Answer: A
26. "He didn’t like the movie." is in:
A) Present Simple (negative)
B) Past Simple (negative)
C) Future Simple
D) Present Perfect
Answer: B
27. "Are you studying for the exam?" is in:
A) Present Continuous (question)
B) Past Continuous
C) Future Continuous
D) Present Simple
Answer: A
28. "Had you met her before the party?" is in:
A) Present Perfect
B) Past Perfect (question)
C) Future Perfect
D) Past Simple
Answer: B
29. "It doesn’t snow here in summer." is in:
A) Present Simple (negative)
B) Past Simple
C) Future Simple
D) Present Continuous
Answer: A
30. "Was she singing when you entered?" is in:
A) Present Continuous
B) Past Continuous (question)
C) Future Continuous
D) Present Perfect
Answer: B
Medium Difficulty (31–60): Tense Usage & Corrections
31. Choose the correct sentence:
A) She is liking ice cream.
B) She likes ice cream.
C) She has liking ice cream.
D) She was likes ice cream.
Answer: B ("Like" is a stative verb—no continuous form)
32. Which sentence is correct?
A) I have seen him yesterday.
B) I saw him yesterday.
C) I see him yesterday.
D) I had seen him yesterday.
Answer: B (Past Simple for specific past time)
33. "By 2025, I _____ my degree." (Future Perfect)
A) will complete
B) will have completed
C) will be completing
D) completed
Answer: B
34. "She _____ TV when I called." (Past Continuous)
A) watched
B) was watching
C) had watched
D) has watched
Answer: B
35. "If it rains, we _____ the picnic." (1st Conditional)
A) will cancel
B) cancel
C) would cancel
D) cancelled
Answer: A
36. "He _____ for hours before he finally slept." (Past Perfect Continuous)
A) had been studying
B) has studied
C) studied
D) was studying
Answer: A
37. "I _____ here since 2010." (Present Perfect Continuous)
A) live
B) have been living
C) had lived
D) was living
Answer: B
38. "They _____ the project by next month." (Future Perfect)
A) will finish
B) will have finished
C) are finishing
D) finished
Answer: B
39. "She _____ to Japan twice." (Present Perfect)
A) went
B) has gone
C) had gone
D) goes
Answer: B
40. "When I arrived, they _____ dinner." (Past Perfect)
A) had already eaten
B) ate
C) were eating
D) have eaten
Answer: A
Mixed Tenses & Error Correction
41. "By the time we arrived, the movie _____."
A) already started
B) had already started
C) has already started
D) was already starting
Answer: B (Past Perfect for action completed before another past action)
42. Choose the correct sentence:
A) She is understanding the lesson now.
B) She understands the lesson now.
C) She has understanding the lesson.
D) She was understands the lesson.
Answer: B ("Understand" is a stative verb; no continuous form)
43. "I _____ my keys before I realized they were in my bag."
A) lost
B) had lost
C) have lost
D) was losing
Answer: B (Past Perfect for action before another past action)
44. "This time next week, we _____ on a beach in Bali."
A) will lie
B) will be lying
C) will have lain
D) lie
Answer: B (Future Continuous for actions at a specific future time)
45. "If it _____ tomorrow, we’ll cancel the picnic."
A) rains
B) will rain
C) rained
D) had rained
Answer: A (1st Conditional: If + Present Simple, will + base verb)
46. "She _____ in London for 5 years by next month."
A) lives
B) has lived
C) will have lived
D) had lived
Answer: C (Future Perfect for actions completed by a future time)
47. Correct the error: "He has written a book last year."
A) He wrote a book last year.
B) He had written a book last year.
C) He writes a book last year.
D) He was writing a book last year.
Answer: A (Past Simple for specific past time)
48. "I _____ TV when the phone rang."
A) watched
B) was watching
C) had watched
D) have watched
Answer: B (Past Continuous for interrupted action)
49. "They _____ dinner by the time we got home."
A) finished
B) had finished
C) have finished
D) were finishing
Answer: B (Past Perfect for action completed before another past action)
50. "I _____ to Japan twice before I turned 20."
A) went
B) had been
C) have been
D) was going
Answer: B (Past Perfect for life experience before a past time)
Contextual Usage
51. "Look! The sky is dark. It _____."
A) rains
B) is going to rain
C) will rain
D) rained
Answer: B ("Going to" for predictions with present evidence)
52. "I promise I _____ you after work."
A) call
B) will call
C) am calling
D) have called
Answer: B (Future Simple for spontaneous decisions/promises)
53. "She _____ for 3 hours before her boss asked for a break."
A) worked
B) had been working
C) has worked
D) was working
Answer: B (Past Perfect Continuous for duration before a past action)
54. "By 2030, scientists _____ a cure for this disease."
A) discover
B) will discover
C) will have discovered
D) discovered
Answer: C (Future Perfect for actions completed by a future time)
55. "I _____ here since 2015."
A) live
B) have lived
C) had lived
D) was living
Answer: B (Present Perfect for actions starting in the past and continuing)
56. "He _____ his leg while he was skiing."
A) breaks
B) broke
C) had broken
D) has broken
Answer: B (Past Simple for completed action in the past)
57. "If I _____ you, I’d apologize immediately."
A) am
B) were
C) had been
D) will be
Answer: B (2nd Conditional: If + Past Simple, would + base verb)
58. "We _____ the project before the deadline."
A) finish
B) will finish
C) will have finished
D) finished
Answer: C (Future Perfect for completion before a future time)
59. "She _____ when she heard the news."
A) cried
B) was crying
C) had cried
D) has cried
Answer: B (Past Continuous for simultaneous past actions)
60. "They _____ for 2 hours when the train finally arrived."
A) waited
B) had been waiting
C) were waiting
D) have waited
Answer: B (Past Perfect Continuous for duration before a past action)
Hard Difficulty
61. "If I _____ you, I would apologize." (2nd Conditional)
A) am
B) were
C) had been
D) will be
Answer: B (Subjunctive "were")
62. "She _____ for 2 hours before the meeting started." (Past Perfect Continuous)
A) had been preparing
B) has prepared
C) was preparing
D) prepared
Answer: A
63. "This time next week, I _____ on a beach." (Future Continuous)
A) will lie
B) will be lying
C) will have lain
D) lie
Answer: B
64. "I wish I _____ harder last year." (Past Perfect for regrets)
A) studied
B) had studied
C) have studied
D) study
Answer: B
65. "He _____ his keys before he realized they were in his pocket." (Past Perfect)
A) lost
B) had lost
C) has lost
D) was losing
Answer: B
66. "By 2030, scientists _____ a cure for cancer." (Future Perfect)
A) will discover
B) will have discovered
C) are discovering
D) discovered
Answer: B
67. "She _____ when the phone rang." (Past Continuous interrupted by Past Simple)
A) cooked
B) was cooking
C) had cooked
D) has cooked
Answer: B
68. "If he _____ late again, he’ll lose his job." (1st Conditional)
A) is
B) was
C) were
D) had been
Answer: A
69. "I _____ to the gym every day this month." (Present Perfect Continuous)
A) go
B) have been going
C) had gone
D) went
Answer: B
70. "They _____ for 3 hours before the concert was canceled." (Past Perfect Continuous)
A) waited
B) had been waiting
C) were waiting
D) have waited
Answer: B
Mixed Conditionals
71. "If I _____ harder in school, I would have a better job now."
A) studied
B) had studied
C) would study
D) study
Answer: B (Mixed Conditional: Past Perfect + would + base verb – Imaginary past action affecting present)
72. "She’d be happier if she _____ that job offer last year."
A) accepted
B) had accepted
C) would accept
D) accepts
Answer: B (Mixed Conditional: Regret about past decision affecting present)
73. "If you _____ me earlier, I could’ve helped you."**
A) told
B) had told
C) would tell
D) tell
Answer: B (3rd Conditional: Past Perfect + could/would have + past participle)
74. "He wouldn’t be exhausted if he _____ up all night."
A) didn’t stay
B) hadn’t stayed
C) wouldn’t stay
D) hasn’t stayed
Answer: B (Mixed Conditional: Past action (hadn’t stayed) affecting present result (wouldn’t be))
75. "If they _____ the instructions, they wouldn’t be confused now."
A) read
B) had read
C) would read
D) are reading
Answer: B (Mixed Conditional: Past action (had read) affecting present (wouldn’t be))
Passive Voice Tenses
76. "The project _____ by the team next week."
A) will complete
B) will be completed
C) is completing
D) completes
Answer: B (Future Simple Passive: will + be + past participle)
77. "The book _____ before the movie was released."
A) had written
B) had been written
C) wrote
D) was writing
Answer: B (Past Perfect Passive: had + been + past participle)
78. "The report _____ right now."
A) is being prepared
B) is preparing
C) prepares
D) has prepared
Answer: A (Present Continuous Passive: is/are + being + past participle)
79. "The cake _____ by the time we arrived."
A) was eaten
B) had been eaten
C) ate
D) has been eaten
Answer: B (Past Perfect Passive: Emphasizes completion before another past action)
80. "The new law _____ in 2025."
A) will introduce
B) will be introduced
C) introduces
D) is introducing
Answer: B (Future Simple Passive for planned actions)
Nuanced Tense Usage (81–85)
81. "You’re always forgetting your keys!" implies:
A) A habitual action (Present Simple)
B) An ongoing action (Present Continuous)
C) Irritation (Present Continuous + "always")
D) A future plan (Future Continuous)
Answer: C (Present Continuous + "always" expresses annoyance)
82. "I’ve been waiting for hours!" emphasizes:
A) Completion of the action
B) Duration of an ongoing action
C) A past habit
D) A future arrangement
Answer: B (Present Perfect Continuous: Focus on duration)
83. "He was to have graduated last year." suggests:
A) He graduated as planned
B) He didn’t graduate (unfulfilled past plan)
C) He will graduate next year
D) He is graduating now
Answer: B (Was to have + past participle = unfulfilled past obligation/plan)
84. "The train leaves at 8 PM tonight." is an example of:
A) Future Simple for schedules
B) Present Simple for timetables
C) Past Simple for completed actions
D) Present Continuous for arrangements
Answer: B (Present Simple for fixed schedules/timetables)
85. "I wish I _____ to the party last night."
A) went
B) had gone
C) would go
D) go
Answer: B (Wish + Past Perfect = regret about the past)
Very Hard Difficulty
86. "Had I known, I _____ differently." (3rd Conditional inversion)
A) would act
B) would have acted
C) acted
D) will act
Answer: B
87. "No sooner _____ than the alarm went off." (Past Perfect + inversion)
A) he had left
B) had he left
C) he left
D) did he leave
Answer: B
88. "It’s high time you _____ responsible." (Subjunctive past)
A) become
B) became
C) had become
D) will become
Answer: B
89. "I’d rather you _____ late." (Past Subjunctive for preference)
A) don’t arrive
B) didn’t arrive
C) hadn’t arrived
D) won’t arrive
Answer: B
90. "She _____ in Paris for 5 years by next month." (Future Perfect Continuous)
A) will live
B) will have been living
C) will be living
D) has lived
Answer: B
91. "Scarcely _____ when the argument began." (Inversion with Past Perfect)
A) he had spoken
B) had he spoken
C) he spoke
D) did he speak
Answer: B
92. "If only I _____ the truth earlier!" (Past Perfect for wishes)
A) knew
B) had known
C) know
D) would know
Answer: B
93. "He behaves as if he _____ the owner." (Subjunctive for unreal situations)
A) is
B) were
C) had been
D) will be
Answer: B
94. "By the time he retires, he _____ for 40 years." (Future Perfect Continuous)
A) will work
B) will have worked
C) will be working
D) has worked
Answer: B
95. "I _____ the report before the meeting started." (Past Perfect for completed actions)
A) finished
B) had finished
C) have finished
D) was finishing
Answer: B
Elliptical Constructions
96. "She sings better than he _____."
A) sings
B) does
C) is
D) has
Answer: B (Ellipsis: "does" replaces "sings" to avoid repetition)
97. "I'll help if I _____."
A) can
B) could
C) will
D) would
Answer: A (Ellipsis: "can" implies "can help" without repeating the verb)
Historical Present
98. "In 1066, William the Conqueror _____ England."
A) invades
B) invaded
C) had invaded
D) was invading
Answer: A (Historical Present: Using present tense for dramatic historical narration)
99. "Shakespeare _____ Hamlet in 1600."
A) writes
B) wrote
C) had written
D) was writing
Answer: A (Historical Present: Treating past events as immediate for vividness)
Archaic Tenses
100. "Thou _____ my heart with thy beauty."
A) hast stolen
B) have stolen
C) had stolen
D) stole
Answer: A (Archaic Present Perfect: "Thou hast" = "You have" in Early Modern English)
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