English Worksheet on: Tense (More than 80 Questions: Entrance, Model and New): By Million Abebe (MA in English/in TEFL)

 
Overview 

In this post, the followings are included:
1. English Questions for Grades 9-12 Students
2. Tense questions on each sub-topic under tense (present, past and future)
3. More than 80 questions:
     3.1. National Exam (G-10 &G-12)
     3.2. Challenging New Questions that could help students see each topic from different angles
4. Answers, Explanation and Exam Techniques were included

Note: 

• (G-10: NE) refers to grade 10 National Exam.
• (G-12: NE) refers to grade 12 National Exam.
• (Oromia) refers to Oromia Regional State Education Bureau.
• (Addis) refers to questions by Addis Ababa Education Bureau.

☞Click here if you want handouts on tense! 

☞Click here if you want simple exam techniques to answer any question about tense!

====End of Overview====

Challenge 1

 Instruction: Choose the best answer!

1. Italians ____ at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 by Ethiopians. Ethiopians ____ the Victory since then.

A. had defeated/have been celebrating
B. defeated/have celebrated
C. had been defeated/have been celebrated
D. were defeated/have been celebrating

2. Ethiopians _____ the Adwa Victory for the last 125 years.

A. celebrated
B. have been celebrating
C. have been celebrated
D. had celebrated

3. White People didn't believe that Blacks were able to defeat Whites ____ the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

A. until      B. since      C. for     D. ago

4. Ethiopians began to celebrate Victory of Adwa as one Nationally Celebrated Days 125 years _______.

A. until    B. since   C. for     D. ago

5. My sister is used to __________ for a long time now; she was not when she was a first year student. (Oromia)

A. studying       B studied  
C study              D studies

6. It was the most interesting play that I _____________ in my life. (Oromia)

A. have ever attended
B. had ever attended
C. had never attended
D. have never attended

7. My younger sister Jane really hates ham and she has_________ eaten meat like that in her life. (Oromia)

A. still    B. ever     C. never    D. always

8. Let’s get going: I have ___ heard such nonsense. (G12: NE)

A. ever     B. wherever    C.  forever   D. never

9. I _______ any good films for the last six months. (G12: NE)

A. had not seen     B. I don’t see
C. did not see        D. have not seen

10. The meeting had not begun __________ when we arrived. (G12: NE)

A. yet   B. since   C. for   D. already     

11. I have never been dependent on anyone____ I was ten. (G12: NE)

A. until B. since C. while D. when

12. I have been dependent on my parent ____ I was ten.

 A. until    B. since   C. while    D. when

13. He has been dependent on his parent ______ he was 20.

A. until   B. since    C. ago      D. for

14. I’m wet; I ______ clothes since morning. (G12: NE)

A. washed          B. was washing

C. I am washing 

D. have been washing

15 He has improved a lot since he _________ her. (G12: NE)

A. married               B. is married

C. was married      D. has married

16. They ________ St. Gabriel Church, Dire Dawa, for the last ten years. It seems they are going to do the same this year too. (G12: NE)

A. did visit            B. visited

C. have visited    D. had visited

17. I __________ in a small town since I was born and planned to stay there until I was fifty. (G12: NE)

A. lived     B. had lived

C. have been living 

D. will have lived

18. We _____ a romantic flowers during spring for pleasure. (G10: NE)

A. are smelling     B. were smelling

C. smell                 D. have smelt

19. This is my friend Urago. He_________ base ball. (G10: NE)

A. loving       B. loves

C. loved        D. is loving

20. I did not know the rules of the game very well last year, but now I _________ them a little better. (G10: NE)

A. will understand 

B. have understood 

C. am understanding 

D. understand

 Challenge 2

1. I now know you have no money. Don’t worry! I _______ lend you some. (G12: NE)

A. will    B. would   C. might D. am going to  

2. He has secured his visa and everything necessary for his travel. They say he ____ move to the USA. (G12: NE)

A. may B. might C. is going to D. will

3. We practice speaking and writing English ___ six hours in a week. (G10: NE)

A. in   B. about   C. for    D. from  

4. Have you ___visited the Awash and the Semen Nation Parks? (G10: NE)

A. never B. ever C. hardly D. even  

5. My sister graduated from a famous college in February last year but she has not got a job ____. (G10: NE)

A. still B. ever C. yet D. ever since  

6. It is 11 o’clock now, but I have _______ eaten my lunch. (G10: NE)

A. still    B. already    C. all ready   D. so far  

7. The secretary is very slow. Do you know how many letters she has written _____ we last met? (G10: NE)

A. before   B. while   C. when   D. since

8. In Ethiopia, more than 100,000 coronavirus laboratory testings  _________ for last three months.

A. have been made  

B. were made 

C. are made 

D. have been making

9. Many countries have begun to lift coronavirus restrictions but thousands of people ______  by the virus.

A. are getting infected more than ever
B. have never been infected
C. are still getting infected
D. haven't yet getting infected

10. Many countries have begun to lift coronavirus restrictions but Eritrean Government ________ lifted any restrictions.

A. has never lifted 

B. has not ever lifted 

C. was not yet lifted 

D. has not yet lifted  

11. According the Guardian, Scotland Government ______ to ease lockdown (of coronavirus) in next week.

A. will begin  B. begins  

C. will have been begun  

D. is going to begin

12. According the Guardian, some coronavirus restrictions _________ in Scotland in next week.

A. will have been lifted 

B. will have lifted 

C. will lift  

D. are going to lift

13. According the Guardian, Scotland Government _______ some coronavirus restrictions in next week.

A. will have been lifted 

B. will have lifted 

C. will lift 

D. are going to lift

14. As South Korean Officials, the country _____ under lockdown for the coming three months because of second round coronavirus outbreak.

A. will stay          B. stays 

C. will be staying 

D. will have stayed

15. I think teacher Chala ______ in this school since 1990 or may be earlier. (Addis)

A. has thought       B. is teaching 

C. teaches              D.  taught                                     

16. As soon as the war was over, the refugees______ to go back to the villages they ______ about five years earlier. (Addis)

A. tried/had left  

B. had tried/left 

C. have tried/were left 

D. were tried/have left

17. Always as soon as Kenedi comes from school, his sister says to him "I ____ something bad...". That is why today he ____ his clothes and shoes before he enters their home.

A. am smell/is smelling  
B. smell/is smelling
C. am smelt /smells  
D. smelling /is smelling

18. The cocks in restaurant found that some of the cooked eggs _____ bad; that is why they _____each egg to identify the normal ones from the bad ones.   

A. are smelling/are tasting  

B. smell/taste 

C. are smelling/taste  

D. smell/are tasting

19. He got off the bus first, _______ he turned to the left and walked straight home. (G-10: NE)

A. last         B. after         C. before     D. then

20. Samuel _______ in London before he moved to Rome. (G-10: NE)

A. had lived      B. was living    

C. lives             D. has lived

 Challenge 3 

1. You have not _______ stopped cheating your girlfriend.

A. yet   B. still C. ever D. never

2. I have not ___ cheated my girlfriend.

A. yet   B. still   C. ever D. never

3. Ashanafi ______ his career as a dentist before he was thirteen years old. (G-10: NE).

A. have started   B. has started  

C. was starting   D. had started

4. Addisu ______ home when it ______ to rain.

A. left/had begun  

B. had just left/ began  

C. have just/had begun   

D. leaves/have begun

5.He was very tired when I saw him because he _______too much.( G-10: NE)     

A. was studying            B. had been studying  

C. has been studying   D. will be studying  

6. It is hard to imagine what life was like ________ there were no computers or mobile phones. (G-12: NE)

A. while     B. when    C. where     D. during

7. Give me a call ________ back from your trip. (G-12: NE)

A. while you got     B. while you get   

C. when you get     D. when you will get

8. Ethiopians have been popular in long distance running ________ Abebe won the Marathon in Rome. (G-12: NE)

A. when        B. as    C. because    D. since

9. She went to the station and asked at the information desk _______. (G-12: NE)

A. where was the train going   

B. where did the train go

C. where the train was going        

D. where does the train

10. Our grandfather used to visit us _____________. (G-12: NE)

A. yesterday       

B. when we going to school  

C. since     D. on a Sunday

11. People ____ using clay tablets once they _______ writing on papyrus.

A. stopped/started     

B. had stopped/had started

C. stopped/had started     

D. had stopped/started

12. After people _______ writing on papyrus, they ____ using clay tablets.

A. had started/had stopped     

B. had started/stopped

C. started/stopped                    

D. started/had stopped

13. Soon after flags _____ to send signals between ships, the first newspapers _____.

A. were first used/appeared  

B. were used first/had appeared

C. first used/appeared          

D. used first/had appeared

14. After flags _____ to send signals between ships, the first newspapers _____.

A. had first used/appeared  

B. had first been used/had appeared

C. first used/appeared           

D. were used first/had appeared

15. The Ancient Persian Emperor _____ send messages across his empire very rapidly long before the first postage stamp ____.

A. had been able to/appeared        

B. was able to/appeared

C. was able to/appeared          

D. was able to/appeared

16. More or less as soon as the personal computer ____, the development of the Internet ______.

A. invented/started          

B. was invented/had started

C. was invented/started          

D. had been invented/started

17. The World Wide Web _______ without the Internet.

A. could have been invented      

B. could not have invented

C. could have invented          

D. could not have been invented

18. While I ______ for the bus, I ___ two of my friends.

A. was waiting/met    

B. waited/met     

C. was waiting/meeting   

D. had been waiting/met

19. Although whistling across valleys ______ an ancient form of sending messages, it ____ in the Canary Islands.

A. is/is still used      

B. was/is still used    

C. is/ still is used  

D. has been/is still used

20. John eventually found a job he _____, although he ______ three years earlier.

A. wants/had graduated

B. had wanted/graduated

C. had wanted/had graduated  

D. wanted/had graduated

Challenge 4

1. The car I _____ was no longer ____ in front of the house.

A. had just bought/parked      

B. bought/had parked

C. had just bought/had parked      

D. was buying/had parked

2. Gelgelo _____ with our present. He ______, he wanted a new watch for months.

A. delighted/had been saying

B. was delighting/had been said

C. was delighted/had been said      

D. was delighted/had been saying

3. My mother ______ to me about five times how to lock up the house even though I _______ her perfectly the first time.

A. had explained/had understood

B. explained/understood

C. had explained/was understood

D. explained/had understood

4. When I ______, my friends told me they ______ at the bus stop for half an hour.

A. turned up/had been waited

B. had turned up/had been waiting

C. turned up/had been waiting

D. had been turning up/had been waiting

5. By the time our team ______ a goal, the other team ____ three.

A. had scored/had scored    

B. scored/ scored

C. scored/had scored

D. scored/had already scored

6. When I ____ them, I _______ at the bus stop for half an hour.

A. had met/had been  

B. met/had been

C. had been met/was

D. met/was

7. We _____ when the bus ______.

A. had been chatting/arrived

B. were chatting/had arrived

C. chatting/had arrived

D. were chatting/arrived

8. We _____ so much that I nearly missed the bus.

A. were laughing

B. had laughed  

C. had been laughing   

D. laughed

9. I _______ to myself for the whole bus journey because I ___ our conversation.

A. was smiling/had enjoyed   

B. had been smiling/enjoyed

C. was smiling/had been enjoyed

D. was smiling/was enjoying

10. There _____ a lot of people queuing for oranges. I _____  to buy any oranges.

A. were/didn’t manage  

B. had been/didn’t manage

C. were/hadn’t managed  

D. had been/didn’t managed

11. They say George is selling his new car. I _____ him a call and ask. (G-12: NE)

A. ought to give     B. am giving

C. must give          D. will give

12. Jobs that call for strength and muscle no longer exist in the numbers that they once __________. (G-12: NE)

A. do         B. did         C. exist     D. were

13. Next year this time, we ____ our first year university courses. (G-12: NE)

A. will complete         

B. have to complete   

C. have completed     

D. will have completed

14. By the year 2020 [future], the cure for HIV/AIDS and Ebola ______. (G-12: NE)

A. was discovered

B. will be discovered

C. had been discovered

D. will have been discovered

15. My sister _____ me a parcel two weeks ago, but I received it only yesterday. (G-12: NE)

A. sent            B. had sent     

C. has sent     D. had been sent

16. Bush, you are not allowed to take this car because I ____ it to Hillary as she had asked me before.

A. am going to give   

B. will give   

C. am giving  

D. will have given

17. There was no food left when I returned. They ____everything. (G-12: NE)

A. had eaten     B. have eaten

C. ate                 D. were eating

18. Kebede and Yeshi are my friends. I think, they _______ soon.

A. marry     

B. are getting married     

C. may be marrying     

D. will marry

19. According to their schedule, the first plane ____ here on time tomorrow morning at 8:00A.M.

A. will arrive                     B. arrives  

C. will have arrived         D. is arriving

20. Did you know that Mary and Bedilu ____ married next week? (G-12: NE)

A. are going to get     B. will be getting   

C. will get     D. get

21. Kebede and Yeshi are looking for a house to buy. I think, they _____ soon. (G-12: NE)

A. marry           B. are getting married     
C. may be marrying     D. will marry

For Answers, click here!