English MCQs – Page 8 (Q71-80)

The correct answer is 'will have' because 'by Friday' establishes a future deadline by which the report will already be finished, matching the Future Perfect tense (will have + past participle). This tense is the future counterpart to Past Perfect, both marking an action completed relative to another time reference, except Future Perfect looks forward to a stated deadline rather than backward to another past event.

The correct answer is 'will have' because 'by 2030' sets a specific future deadline by which scientists will already have achieved a result (finding a cure), matching the Future Perfect tense (will have + past participle). This tense is common in predictions about scientific, economic, or technological milestones, framing an achievement as already accomplished from the vantage point of a stated future date.

The correct answer is 'will have' because 'by June' sets a future deadline, and the ongoing duration of working ('for ten years') combined with that deadline requires the Future Perfect Continuous tense (will have been + verb-ing). This tense emphasizes both the completion relative to a future point and the continuous duration of an activity leading up to it, making it more precise than plain Future Perfect when duration is explicitly mentioned.

The correct answer is 'will have' because 'by next month' sets a future deadline, and the phrase 'for a year' emphasizes ongoing duration, together requiring the Future Perfect Continuous tense (will have been + verb-ing) to complete the sentence 'will have been living'. This tense is reserved for situations combining a future deadline with continuous duration, distinguishing it from plain Future Perfect, which only marks completion without stressing an ongoing span of time.

The correct answer is 'Simple Present' because 'He plays cricket every day' describes a repeated, habitual action using the base verb with the third-person -s ending, the defining structure of this tense. The phrase 'every day' is a textbook frequency marker for Simple Present. Being able to name a tense from a sample sentence, not just fill blanks, is a distinct exam skill that tests recognition of tense structure and typical signal words together.

The correct answer is 'Present Continuous' because 'is cooking' (is + verb-ing) paired with the time marker 'now' describes an action happening at the exact moment of speaking. This tense is built from am/is/are plus the -ing form of the verb and always agrees with the subject's number, here the singular 'she' taking 'is'. Recognizing this tense from a sample sentence, rather than filling a blank, tests whether a student can spot both the auxiliary-plus-ing structure and its typical time signals like 'now', 'currently', and 'at the moment'.

The correct answer is 'Present Perfect' because 'have finished' (have/has + past participle) shows a recently completed action with present relevance, without stating exactly when it happened. The plural subject 'they' correctly pairs with 'have' rather than 'has'. This tense is distinct from Simple Past, which would require a specific past time marker such as 'yesterday'. Present Perfect is one of the most frequently misidentified tenses because its structure resembles Simple Past in meaning but not in form.

The correct answer is 'Present Perfect Continuous' because 'have been waiting' (have/has been + verb-ing) emphasizes an action that started in the past and is still ongoing, with 'for an hour' marking its duration. This tense combines the present-relevance of Present Perfect with the ongoing emphasis of the continuous aspect. It should not be confused with plain Present Perfect, which would simply state 'have waited' without stressing the continuing nature of the wait. Duration phrases with 'for' or 'since' are the clearest signal of this tense.

The correct answer is 'Simple Past' because 'went' is the irregular past-tense form of 'go', and 'yesterday' is a definite completed past time marker that this tense requires. Simple Past describes a single finished action at a specific point in time and needs no auxiliary verb in an affirmative sentence. This contrasts with Present Perfect, which would be used if no exact time were given, such as 'He has gone to school'. Recognizing definite time markers like 'yesterday', 'last week', and 'in 2020' is key to identifying this tense.

The correct answer is 'Past Continuous' because 'was singing' (was/were + verb-ing) describes an action that was in progress at some point in the past, without specifying exactly when it began or ended. The singular subject 'she' correctly pairs with 'was' rather than 'were'. This tense is often used to set the scene or background for another past event, as in 'She was singing when the power went out'. It differs from Simple Past, which would present the singing as a single completed act.