Gap Fills Exercise

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb form.

1. He …………………………… before I reached his house.

left
has left
had left
We use the past perfect tense for the earlier of two past actions.

2. She always ……………………………… neat clothes.

is wearing
wears
has worn
We use the simple present to talk about the habits of people.

3. I ………………………… never forget what you just told me.

will
would
Either could be used here

4. I ………………………….. her and she ………………………. at once.

phoned, came
have phoned, has come
phoned, had come
We use the simple past to talk about two past events that took place almost simultaneously.

5. The boy …………………………….. for cheating on the exam.

punished
was punished
has punished
We need a passive verb form here because the subject is not the doer of the action.

www.englishgrammar.org
 Gap Fills Exercise

6. I …………………………….. the letter in the morning.

received
have received
was receiving
The simple past is the most common tense for talking about finished actions or situations.

7. The winners ………………………………… by the chief guest.

felicitated
were felicitated
were felicitating

8. I am not worried about the test. I ……………………………… well.

am prepared
have prepared
prepared
If you have prepared well for the test, you are prepared for the test. We use the present
perfect to talk about finished events whose effect is still felt in the present.

9. Hundreds of people ………………………… in the riots.

died
were died
had died

10. Four members of the family ……………………………. in the accident.

killed
were killed
have killed
We need a passive form here because they didn’t kill anyone. They were killed.

www.englishgrammar.org
 Gap Fills Exercise

11. The athlete …………………………. the distance in a record time.

ran
has run
had run

12. After the visitor ………………………….. I went to bed.

left
had left
was leaving

PLAY AGAIN !
Answers
1. He had left before I reached his house.
2. She always wears neat clothes.
3. I will never forget what you just told me.
4. I phoned her and she came at once.
5. The boy was punished for cheating on the exam.
6. I received the letter in the morning.
7. The winners were felicitated by the chief guest.
8. I am not worried about the test. I have prepared well.
9. Hundreds of people died in the riots.
10. Four members of the family were killed in the accident.
11. The athlete ran the distance in record time.
12. After the visitor had left I went to bed.

www.englishgrammar.org