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Tenses (Present, Past, Future) — English Questions with Answers

60 practice questions on Tenses (Present, Past, Future), each with the correct answer and a clear explanation of why it is right. Read through them as revision notes, or take this topic as an interactive quiz to test yourself.

4 easy · 30 medium · 26 hard · Part of English: English Grammar for Class 1-5 - 10 topics.

Key concepts in this topic

TensesPresent tensePast tenseFuture tenseIdentifyed endingDouble lettery to iedIrregularwillTime wordsHabitisPresent continuousPast continuousCommon errorSummary

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Easy questions (4)

Q1. easy

The tense of a verb tells us the TIME of an action. The three main tenses are:

  1. A Present, past and future
  2. B Big, small and medium
  3. C Here, there and everywhere
  4. D A, an and the

Answer: A — Present, past and future

Tense shows when something happens: present (now), past (before) and future (later).

Tenses

Q2. easy

A verb that shows an action happening NOW or regularly is in the:

  1. A Present tense
  2. B Past tense
  3. C Future tense
  4. D No tense

Answer: A — Present tense

The present tense shows something happening now or done regularly - 'I eat', 'She plays every day'.

Present tense

Q3. easy

A verb that shows an action that has ALREADY happened is in the:

  1. A Past tense
  2. B Present tense
  3. C Future tense
  4. D No tense

Answer: A — Past tense

The past tense shows something that happened before now - 'I ate', 'She played yesterday'.

Past tense

Q4. easy

A verb that shows an action that WILL happen later is in the:

  1. A Future tense
  2. B Past tense
  3. C Present tense
  4. D No tense

Answer: A — Future tense

The future tense shows something that will happen - 'I will eat', 'She will play tomorrow'.

Future tense

Medium questions (30)

Q5. medium

Which sentence is in the PRESENT tense?

  1. A I go to school.
  2. B I went to school.
  3. C I will go to school.
  4. D I had gone to school.

Answer: A — I go to school.

'I go' shows a present action, done regularly. 'Went' is past and 'will go' is future.

Present tenseIdentify

Q6. medium

Which sentence is in the PAST tense?

  1. A She danced at the party.
  2. B She dances at the party.
  3. C She will dance at the party.
  4. D She is dancing at the party.

Answer: A — She danced at the party.

'Danced' shows an action that already happened, so it is past tense.

Past tenseIdentify

Q7. medium

Which sentence is in the FUTURE tense?

  1. A They will visit us next week.
  2. B They visit us every week.
  3. C They visited us last week.
  4. D They are visiting us.

Answer: A — They will visit us next week.

'Will visit' shows an action that will happen later, so it is future tense.

Future tenseIdentify

Q8. medium

What is the past tense of 'play'?

  1. A played
  2. B playing
  3. C plays
  4. D will play

Answer: A — played

For most verbs we add '-ed' to make the past tense: play → played, walk → walked, jump → jumped.

Past tenseed ending

Q9. medium

What is the past tense of 'walk'?

  1. A walked
  2. B walking
  3. C walks
  4. D will walk

Answer: A — walked

Add '-ed' to 'walk' to make the past: walked. 'She walked to the market.'

Past tenseed ending

Q17. medium

Change to future tense: 'I eat an apple.'

  1. A I will eat an apple.
  2. B I ate an apple.
  3. C I am eating an apple.
  4. D I eats an apple.

Answer: A — I will eat an apple.

To make the future tense, we use 'will' before the verb: 'I will eat an apple.'

Future tensewill

Q18. medium

Change to past tense: 'She opens the door.'

  1. A She opened the door.
  2. B She will open the door.
  3. C She opens the door.
  4. D She is opening the door.

Answer: A — She opened the door.

Add '-ed' to make the past tense: 'She opened the door.'

Past tenseed ending

Q19. medium

Fill in the blank: 'Yesterday, we ___ to the zoo.'

  1. A went
  2. B go
  3. C will go
  4. D goes

Answer: A — went

'Yesterday' shows past time, so we use the past tense 'went'. 'Yesterday, we went to the zoo.'

Past tenseTime words

Q20. medium

Fill in the blank: 'Tomorrow, I ___ my grandmother.'

  1. A will visit
  2. B visited
  3. C visit
  4. D visiting

Answer: A — will visit

'Tomorrow' shows future time, so we use 'will visit'. 'Tomorrow, I will visit my grandmother.'

Future tenseTime words

Q21. medium

Fill in the blank: 'Every morning, the sun ___ in the east.'

  1. A rises
  2. B rose
  3. C will rise
  4. D rising

Answer: A — rises

'Every morning' shows a regular present action, so we use the present tense 'rises'.

Present tenseHabit

Q22. medium

Which time word goes with the PAST tense?

  1. A yesterday
  2. B tomorrow
  3. C now
  4. D next week

Answer: A — yesterday

'Yesterday', 'last week' and 'ago' are past-time words. 'Tomorrow' and 'next week' are future, and 'now' is present.

TensesTime words

Q23. medium

Which time word goes with the FUTURE tense?

  1. A tomorrow
  2. B yesterday
  3. C last night
  4. D an hour ago

Answer: A — tomorrow

'Tomorrow', 'next week' and 'soon' are future-time words. The others point to the past.

TensesTime words

Q28. medium

Fill in the blank: 'Right now, the baby ___ sleeping.'

  1. A is
  2. B was
  3. C will be
  4. D were

Answer: A — is

'Right now' shows the present, so we use 'is'. 'The baby is sleeping.'

Present tenseis

Q29. medium

Which sentence shows an action happening NOW?

  1. A She is reading a book.
  2. B She read a book.
  3. C She will read a book.
  4. D She reads every day.

Answer: A — She is reading a book.

'Is reading' shows an action happening right now (present continuous). 'Read' is past and 'will read' is future.

Present continuous

Q31. medium

Fill in the blank: 'Last Sunday, I ___ a film.' (watch)

  1. A watched
  2. B watch
  3. C will watch
  4. D watching

Answer: A — watched

'Last Sunday' shows past time, so we use 'watched'. 'Last Sunday, I watched a film.'

Past tenseTime words

Q32. medium

Change to future tense: 'She sings a song.'

  1. A She will sing a song.
  2. B She sang a song.
  3. C She sings a song.
  4. D She is singing a song.

Answer: A — She will sing a song.

Use 'will' + the plain verb for the future: 'She will sing a song.'

Future tensewill

Q35. medium

Which sentence is correct for a daily habit?

  1. A He brushes his teeth every day.
  2. B He brushed his teeth every day.
  3. C He will brush his teeth every day.
  4. D He brushing his teeth every day.

Answer: A — He brushes his teeth every day.

For a regular habit we use the simple present: 'He brushes his teeth every day.'

Present tenseHabit

Q36. medium

Fill in the blank: 'Next year, we ___ to Delhi.' (go)

  1. A will go
  2. B went
  3. C go
  4. D going

Answer: A — will go

'Next year' shows future time, so we use 'will go'. 'Next year, we will go to Delhi.'

Future tenseTime words

Q38. medium

Fill in the blank: 'They ___ football now.' (play)

  1. A are playing
  2. B played
  3. C will play
  4. D plays

Answer: A — are playing

'Now' shows a present action happening at this moment, so we use 'are playing'. 'They are playing football now.'

Present continuous

Q41. medium

Which sentence is in the correct PRESENT tense?

  1. A Birds fly in the sky.
  2. B Birds flew in the sky.
  3. C Birds will fly in the sky.
  4. D Birds flying in the sky.

Answer: A — Birds fly in the sky.

'Fly' (plain form with 'birds') shows a general present truth. 'Birds fly in the sky.'

Present tense

Q42. medium

Fill in the blank: 'An hour ago, she ___ home.' (reach)

  1. A reached
  2. B reaches
  3. C will reach
  4. D reaching

Answer: A — reached

'An hour ago' shows past time, so we use 'reached'. 'An hour ago, she reached home.'

Past tenseTime words

Q44. medium

What is the past tense of 'carry'?

  1. A carried
  2. B carryed
  3. C carrying
  4. D carries

Answer: A — carried

'Carry' ends in a consonant + 'y', so we change 'y' to 'i' and add '-ed': carried.

Past tensey to ied

Q46. medium

Fill in the blank: 'Look! The dog ___ the ball.' (chase)

  1. A is chasing
  2. B chased
  3. C will chase
  4. D chases

Answer: A — is chasing

'Look!' points to something happening now, so we use 'is chasing'. 'The dog is chasing the ball.'

Present continuous

Q47. medium

Change to past: 'We watch television.'

  1. A We watched television.
  2. B We will watch television.
  3. C We watch television.
  4. D We are watching television.

Answer: A — We watched television.

Add '-ed' for the past tense: 'We watched television.'

Past tenseed ending

Q50. medium

Which sentence shows a FUTURE plan?

  1. A I will help you tomorrow.
  2. B I helped you yesterday.
  3. C I help you daily.
  4. D I am helping you now.

Answer: A — I will help you tomorrow.

'Will help' with 'tomorrow' shows a future action. The others are past, present habit and present continuous.

Future tense

Q51. medium

Fill in the blank: 'She ___ her homework every evening.' (do)

  1. A does
  2. B did
  3. C will do
  4. D doing

Answer: A — does

'Every evening' shows a regular habit, so we use the present tense 'does'. 'She does her homework every evening.'

Present tenseHabit

Q53. medium

What is the past tense of 'jump'?

  1. A jumped
  2. B jumpped
  3. C jumping
  4. D jumps

Answer: A — jumped

'Jump' is a regular verb: add '-ed' to make the past - jumped. (We do not double the 'p' because two consonants come before the ending.)

Past tenseed ending

Q55. medium

Fill in the blank: 'We ___ our lunch at 1 o'clock every day.' (eat)

  1. A eat
  2. B ate
  3. C will eat
  4. D eating

Answer: A — eat

'Every day' shows a habit, so we use the present tense 'eat'. 'We eat our lunch at 1 o'clock every day.'

Present tenseHabit

Q57. medium

Which sentence is in the PAST tense?

  1. A The train left the station.
  2. B The train leaves the station.
  3. C The train will leave the station.
  4. D The train is leaving the station.

Answer: A — The train left the station.

'Left' is the past tense of 'leave', so the action already happened. 'The train left the station.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q59. medium

What is the past tense of 'help'?

  1. A helped
  2. B helpped
  3. C helping
  4. D helps

Answer: A — helped

'Help' is a regular verb: add '-ed' to make the past - helped. 'She helped her mother.'

Past tenseed ending

Hard questions (26)

Q10. hard

What is the past tense of 'stop'?

  1. A stopped
  2. B stoped
  3. C stopping
  4. D stops

Answer: A — stopped

For short verbs ending in a single vowel + consonant, we double the last letter and add '-ed': stop → stopped, clap → clapped.

Past tenseDouble letter

Q11. hard

What is the past tense of 'cry'?

  1. A cried
  2. B cryed
  3. C crying
  4. D cries

Answer: A — cried

For verbs ending in a consonant + 'y', we change 'y' to 'i' and add '-ed': cry → cried, carry → carried.

Past tensey to ied

Q12. hard

What is the past tense of 'go'?

  1. A went
  2. B goed
  3. C gone
  4. D going

Answer: A — went

'Go' is irregular: its past tense is 'went' (not 'goed'). 'I went home early.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q13. hard

What is the past tense of 'eat'?

  1. A ate
  2. B eated
  3. C eaten
  4. D eating

Answer: A — ate

'Eat' is irregular: its past tense is 'ate'. 'I ate my lunch.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q14. hard

What is the past tense of 'come'?

  1. A came
  2. B comed
  3. C coming
  4. D comes

Answer: A — came

'Come' is irregular: its past tense is 'came'. 'He came late.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q15. hard

What is the past tense of 'run'?

  1. A ran
  2. B runned
  3. C running
  4. D runs

Answer: A — ran

'Run' is irregular: its past tense is 'ran'. 'The dog ran fast.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q16. hard

What is the past tense of 'see'?

  1. A saw
  2. B seed
  3. C seen
  4. D seeing

Answer: A — saw

'See' is irregular: its past tense is 'saw'. 'I saw a rainbow.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q24. hard

What is the past tense of 'buy'?

  1. A bought
  2. B buyed
  3. C buying
  4. D buys

Answer: A — bought

'Buy' is irregular: its past tense is 'bought'. 'I bought a new bag.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q25. hard

What is the past tense of 'write'?

  1. A wrote
  2. B writed
  3. C written
  4. D writing

Answer: A — wrote

'Write' is irregular: its past tense is 'wrote'. 'She wrote a letter.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q26. hard

What is the past tense of 'take'?

  1. A took
  2. B taked
  3. C taken
  4. D taking

Answer: A — took

'Take' is irregular: its past tense is 'took'. 'He took my pen.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q27. hard

What is the past tense of 'sing'?

  1. A sang
  2. B singed
  3. C sung
  4. D singing

Answer: A — sang

'Sing' is irregular: its past tense is 'sang'. 'The girl sang a song.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q30. hard

Change to past tense: 'The children run in the park.'

  1. A The children ran in the park.
  2. B The children runned in the park.
  3. C The children will run in the park.
  4. D The children running in the park.

Answer: A — The children ran in the park.

'Run' is irregular, so its past tense is 'ran'. 'The children ran in the park.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q33. hard

What is the past tense of 'drink'?

  1. A drank
  2. B drinked
  3. C drunk
  4. D drinking

Answer: A — drank

'Drink' is irregular: its past tense is 'drank'. 'He drank a glass of milk.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q34. hard

What is the past tense of 'give'?

  1. A gave
  2. B gived
  3. C given
  4. D giving

Answer: A — gave

'Give' is irregular: its past tense is 'gave'. 'She gave me a gift.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q37. hard

Change 'I am writing a letter' to the PAST continuous:

  1. A I was writing a letter.
  2. B I will write a letter.
  3. C I wrote a letter.
  4. D I write a letter.

Answer: A — I was writing a letter.

The past continuous uses 'was/were' + verb-ing: 'I was writing a letter.'

Past continuous

Q39. hard

What is the past tense of 'sit'?

  1. A sat
  2. B sitted
  3. C sitting
  4. D sits

Answer: A — sat

'Sit' is irregular: its past tense is 'sat'. 'She sat on the bench.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q40. hard

What is the past tense of 'make'?

  1. A made
  2. B maked
  3. C making
  4. D makes

Answer: A — made

'Make' is irregular: its past tense is 'made'. 'Mother made a cake.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q43. hard

Which sentence is in the future tense?

  1. A It will rain in the evening.
  2. B It rained in the evening.
  3. C It rains in the evening.
  4. D It is raining in the evening.

Answer: A — It will rain in the evening.

'Will rain' shows an action that will happen later, so it is future tense.

Future tenseIdentify

Q45. hard

What is the past tense of 'clap'?

  1. A clapped
  2. B claped
  3. C clapping
  4. D claps

Answer: A — clapped

'Clap' ends in a single vowel + consonant, so we double the 'p' and add '-ed': clapped.

Past tenseDouble letter

Q48. hard

What is the past tense of 'teach'?

  1. A taught
  2. B teached
  3. C teaching
  4. D teaches

Answer: A — taught

'Teach' is irregular: its past tense is 'taught'. 'The teacher taught us grammar.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q49. hard

What is the past tense of 'catch'?

  1. A caught
  2. B catched
  3. C catching
  4. D catches

Answer: A — caught

'Catch' is irregular: its past tense is 'caught'. 'He caught the ball.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q52. hard

Which sentence has the WRONG tense?

  1. A Yesterday I will go to the market.
  2. B Yesterday I went to the market.
  3. C I go to the market every day.
  4. D I will go to the market tomorrow.

Answer: A — Yesterday I will go to the market.

'Yesterday' is past, but 'will go' is future - they do not match. It should be 'Yesterday I went to the market.'

TensesCommon error

Q54. hard

What is the past tense of 'fly'?

  1. A flew
  2. B flied
  3. C flying
  4. D flys

Answer: A — flew

'Fly' is irregular: its past tense is 'flew'. 'The bird flew away.'

Past tenseIrregular

Q56. hard

Change to future: 'They are building a house.'

  1. A They will build a house.
  2. B They built a house.
  3. C They build a house.
  4. D They were building a house.

Answer: A — They will build a house.

Use 'will' + the plain verb for the future: 'They will build a house.'

Future tensewill

Q58. hard

Which overall statement about tenses is CORRECT?

  1. A Tense shows the time of an action: present (now), past (already happened) and future (will happen); many verbs add '-ed' for the past, but some are irregular
  2. B Tense shows the colour of a noun
  3. C All verbs add '-ed' for the past
  4. D Tense never changes the verb

Answer: A — Tense shows the time of an action: present (now), past (already happened) and future (will happen); many verbs add '-ed' for the past, but some are irregular

This sums up the topic: the present shows now or habits, the past shows what already happened (regular verbs add '-ed', irregular ones change like go → went), and the future uses 'will'.

TensesSummary

Q60. hard

What is the past tense of 'sleep'?

  1. A slept
  2. B sleeped
  3. C sleeping
  4. D sleeps

Answer: A — slept

'Sleep' is irregular: its past tense is 'slept'. 'The baby slept all night.'

Past tenseIrregular

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