patterns:
- Fill in the blanks – 25 questions
- Error spotting & correction – 15 questions
- Active ↔ Passive voice – 15 questions
- Direct ↔ Indirect speech & narration – 20 questions
- Mixed/conditional/past perfect & tricky forms – 25 questions
Past Tense MCQs – 100 Questions (Competitive Exam Style)
Section 1: Fill in the blanks (25 questions)
- She _______ (go) to the market yesterday.
a) goes
b) went
c) gone
d) going
Answer: b) went – ‘yesterday’ indicates simple past. - They _______ (finish) their homework before dinner.
a) finishes
b) finished
c) finish
d) finishing
Answer: b) finished – Past action completed. - I _______ (not / see) him last week.
a) did not saw
b) do not see
c) did not see
d) not see
Answer: c) did not see – Use base verb after ‘did not’. - He _______ (buy) a new car last month.
a) buys
b) bought
c) buy
d) buying
Answer: b) bought – Simple past of ‘buy’ is ‘bought’. - We _______ (visit) the Taj Mahal in 2019.
a) visit
b) visited
c) visiting
d) visits
Answer: b) visited – Completed action in past. - She _______ (wake) up late yesterday.
a) wakes
b) woke
c) wake
d) waken
Answer: b) woke – Past tense of ‘wake’. - They _______ (not / attend) the meeting last Friday.
a) did not attend
b) not attended
c) did not attended
d) do not attend
Answer: a) did not attend – Negative past requires base verb. - I _______ (lose) my wallet yesterday.
a) lost
b) lose
c) loses
d) losing
Answer: a) lost – Simple past form of ‘lose’. - He _______ (read) the book you gave me.
a) read
b) reads
c) reading
d) have read
Answer: a) read – Past tense of ‘read’ pronounced like ‘red’. - By the time we arrived, the movie _______ (already / start).
a) already starts
b) already started
c) had already started
d) has already started
Answer: c) had already started – Past perfect for action completed before another past action. - She _______ (write) a letter to her friend yesterday.
a) writes
b) wrote
c) write
d) writing
Answer: b) wrote – Past tense of ‘write’. - I _______ (see) a beautiful rainbow yesterday.
a) see
b) saw
c) seen
d) seeing
Answer: b) saw – Simple past of ‘see’. - We _______ (travel) to Delhi last summer.
a) travel
b) traveled
c) travels
d) traveling
Answer: b) traveled – Completed action in past. - He _______ (not / come) to the party last night.
a) did not come
b) did not came
c) not come
d) not came
Answer: a) did not come – Base verb after ‘did not’. - They _______ (play) football yesterday evening.
a) play
b) played
c) plays
d) playing
Answer: b) played – Simple past tense. - I _______ (wake) up early this morning.
a) woke
b) wake
c) waked
d) woken
Answer: a) woke – Past tense. - She _______ (cook) a delicious meal yesterday.
a) cooked
b) cook
c) cooking
d) cooks
Answer: a) cooked – Completed past action. - We _______ (not / go) to school last Monday.
a) did not went
b) did not go
c) not go
d) did go not
Answer: b) did not go – Negative past uses base verb. - He _______ (find) a lost puppy on the road.
a) finds
b) found
c) find
d) finding
Answer: b) found – Past tense. - I _______ (meet) my old friend yesterday.
a) meets
b) met
c) meet
d) meeting
Answer: b) met – Past tense of ‘meet’. - She _______ (help) her mother in the kitchen yesterday.
a) helps
b) helped
c) help
d) helping
Answer: b) helped – Completed past action. - They _______ (watch) a movie last night.
a) watched
b) watch
c) watches
d) watching
Answer: a) watched – Past action. - He _______ (not / know) the answer yesterday.
a) did not knew
b) did not know
c) not knew
d) knows not
Answer: b) did not know – Base verb after ‘did not’. - I _______ (lose) my keys yesterday.
a) lost
b) lose
c) losing
d) loses
Answer: a) lost – Simple past. - We _______ (celebrate) his birthday last week.
a) celebrated
b) celebrate
c) celebrating
d) celebrates
Answer: a) celebrated – Completed past action.
Section 2: Error Spotting & Correction (15 Questions)
- Identify the error in the sentence:
“She did not went to school yesterday.”
a) She
b) did not
c) went
d) yesterday
Answer: c) went – After ‘did not’, use base verb: ‘did not go’. - Find the error:
“They has completed the project last week.”
a) They
b) has
c) completed
d) last week
Answer: b) has – Past time indicator ‘last week’ requires past tense auxiliary ‘had’ or simple past ‘completed’. Correct: ‘They completed…’. - Spot the error:
“He run to catch the bus yesterday.”
a) He
b) run
c) to catch
d) yesterday
Answer: b) run – Past tense of ‘run’ is ran. - Choose the incorrect part:
“I did not saw him at the party.”
a) I
b) did not
c) saw
d) at the party
Answer: c) saw – Use base verb after ‘did not’: ‘did not see’. - Find the error:
“She was go to the market last evening.”
a) She
b) was go
c) to the market
d) last evening
Answer: b) was go – Correct past tense: ‘went’. - Spot the mistake:
“They have finished their work yesterday.”
a) They
b) have
c) finished
d) yesterday
Answer: b) have – Use simple past with time indicator: ‘finished’ is enough. - Identify the error:
“I seen that movie last week.”
a) I
b) seen
c) that movie
d) last week
Answer: b) seen – Correct past: ‘saw’. - Find the error:
“He don’t come to the class yesterday.”
a) He
b) don’t
c) come
d) yesterday
Answer: b) don’t – Past tense requires ‘did not’. Correct: ‘did not come’. - Spot the error:
“We was happy to meet him yesterday.”
a) We
b) was
c) happy
d) yesterday
Answer: b) was – For plural subject ‘we’, use were. - Identify the mistake:
“She writed a letter to her friend.”
a) She
b) writed
c) a letter
d) to her friend
Answer: b) writed – Past tense of ‘write’ is wrote. - Find the error:
“They didn’t went to school on Monday.”
a) They
b) didn’t
c) went
d) on Monday
Answer: c) went – Base verb after ‘didn’t’: ‘didn’t go’. - Spot the error:
“He has saw the movie yesterday.”
a) He
b) has
c) saw
d) yesterday
Answer: b/c – Combination incorrect. With ‘yesterday’, use simple past: ‘saw’. - Find the error:
“I was knowing him since childhood.”
a) I
b) was knowing
c) him
d) since childhood
Answer: b) was knowing – ‘know’ is stative verb, not used in continuous. Correct: ‘have known’. - Spot the error:
“She didn’t knew the answer.”
a) She
b) didn’t
c) knew
d) the answer
Answer: c) knew – After ‘didn’t’, use base verb: ‘didn’t know’. - Identify the error:
“They was playing football yesterday evening.”
a) They
b) was playing
c) football
d) yesterday evening
Answer: b) was playing – Plural subject requires ‘were’: ‘They were playing…’.
Section 3: Active ↔ Passive Voice (15 Questions)
- Change to passive: “The teacher corrected the answer sheets.”
a) The answer sheets were corrected by the teacher.
b) The answer sheets is corrected by the teacher.
c) The answer sheets corrected by the teacher.
d) The answer sheets has been corrected by the teacher.
Answer: a) The answer sheets were corrected by the teacher. – Past action → use were + past participle. - Change to passive: “They built a new bridge last year.”
a) A new bridge was built by them last year.
b) A new bridge is built by them last year.
c) A new bridge has been built by them last year.
d) A new bridge was build by them last year.
Answer: a) A new bridge was built by them last year. – Simple past passive: was/were + past participle. - Change to passive: “She wrote a letter to her friend.”
a) A letter is written by her friend.
b) A letter was written by her.
c) A letter wrote by her.
d) A letter has written by her.
Answer: b) A letter was written by her. – Past simple passive uses was + past participle. - Change to passive: “The company launched a new product last month.”
a) A new product was launched by the company last month.
b) A new product is launched by the company last month.
c) A new product launched by the company last month.
d) A new product has been launched by the company last month.
Answer: a) A new product was launched by the company last month. – Correct past passive form. - Change to passive: “He painted the wall yesterday.”
a) The wall painted by him yesterday.
b) The wall was painted by him yesterday.
c) The wall is painted by him yesterday.
d) The wall has painted by him yesterday.
Answer: b) The wall was painted by him yesterday. – Past tense → use was + past participle. - Change to passive: “The chef cooked a delicious meal.”
a) A delicious meal cooked by the chef.
b) A delicious meal was cooked by the chef.
c) A delicious meal is cooked by the chef.
d) A delicious meal has been cooked by the chef.
Answer: b) A delicious meal was cooked by the chef. – Past simple passive. - Change to passive: “They discovered a new planet in 2020.”
a) A new planet discovered by them in 2020.
b) A new planet was discovered by them in 2020.
c) A new planet is discovered by them in 2020.
d) A new planet has discovered by them in 2020.
Answer: b) A new planet was discovered by them in 2020. – Correct past passive form. - Change to passive: “She sang a beautiful song at the concert.”
a) A beautiful song was sung by her at the concert.
b) A beautiful song sung by her at the concert.
c) A beautiful song is sung by her at the concert.
d) A beautiful song has been sung by her at the concert.
Answer: a) A beautiful song was sung by her at the concert. – Past tense requires was + past participle. - Change to passive: “The students solved the question paper quickly.”
a) The question paper was solved quickly by the students.
b) The question paper is solved quickly by the students.
c) The question paper solved quickly by the students.
d) The question paper has solved quickly by the students.
Answer: a) The question paper was solved quickly by the students. – Past action → was + past participle. - Change to passive: “He repaired the car yesterday.”
a) The car repaired by him yesterday.
b) The car was repaired by him yesterday.
c) The car is repaired by him yesterday.
d) The car has repaired by him yesterday.
Answer: b) The car was repaired by him yesterday. – Past passive. - Change to passive: “The gardener planted new flowers in the garden.”
a) New flowers were planted in the garden by the gardener.
b) New flowers planted in the garden by the gardener.
c) New flowers are planted in the garden by the gardener.
d) New flowers has been planted in the garden by the gardener.
Answer: a) New flowers were planted in the garden by the gardener. – Correct past passive. - Change to passive: “They celebrated the festival with great enthusiasm.”
a) The festival celebrated with great enthusiasm by them.
b) The festival was celebrated with great enthusiasm by them.
c) The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm by them.
d) The festival has been celebrated with great enthusiasm by them.
Answer: b) The festival was celebrated with great enthusiasm by them. – Past simple passive. - Change to passive: “He answered all the questions correctly.”
a) All the questions were answered correctly by him.
b) All the questions answered correctly by him.
c) All the questions are answered correctly by him.
d) All the questions has been answered correctly by him.
Answer: a) All the questions were answered correctly by him. – Past tense → were + past participle. - Change to passive: “She invited all her friends to the party.”
a) All her friends invited to the party by her.
b) All her friends were invited to the party by her.
c) All her friends are invited to the party by her.
d) All her friends has been invited to the party by her.
Answer: b) All her friends were invited to the party by her. – Past action. - Change to passive: “The police caught the thief yesterday.”
a) The thief caught by the police yesterday.
b) The thief was caught by the police yesterday.
c) The thief is caught by the police yesterday.
d) The thief has caught by the police yesterday.
Answer: b) The thief was caught by the police yesterday. – Past passive form.
Section 4: Direct ↔ Indirect Speech & Narration (20 Questions)
- Direct: “I am tired,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ tired.
a) is
b) was
c) were
d) be
Answer: b) was – Present tense in direct speech changes to past in indirect speech. - Direct: “I will help you,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ help me.
a) will
b) would
c) can
d) shall
Answer: b) would – Future ‘will’ changes to ‘would’ in reported speech. - Direct: “I saw a movie yesterday,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ a movie the day before.
a) saw
b) had seen
c) sees
d) see
Answer: b) had seen – Past simple changes to past perfect in indirect speech. - Direct: “I am going to the market,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ to the market.
a) was going
b) is going
c) went
d) goes
Answer: a) was going – Present continuous changes to past continuous. - Direct: “I have finished my homework,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ his homework.
a) has finished
b) had finished
c) finished
d) have finished
Answer: b) had finished – Present perfect changes to past perfect. - Direct: “I can swim,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ swim.
a) can
b) could
c) may
d) will
Answer: b) could – ‘Can’ changes to ‘could’ in reported speech. - Direct: “I am reading a book,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ a book.
a) is reading
b) was reading
c) read
d) has read
Answer: b) was reading – Present continuous changes to past continuous. - Direct: “We saw him yesterday,” they said.
Indirect: They said that they _______ him the day before.
a) saw
b) had seen
c) see
d) have seen
Answer: b) had seen – Past simple → past perfect in reported speech. - Direct: “I will call you tomorrow,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ call me the next day.
a) will
b) would
c) can
d) shall
Answer: b) would – ‘Will’ becomes ‘would’; ‘tomorrow’ → ‘the next day’. - Direct: “I was sleeping when you called,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ when I called.
a) was sleeping
b) had been sleeping
c) is sleeping
d) sleeps
Answer: b) had been sleeping – Past continuous → past perfect continuous. - Direct: “I may go to the park,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ go to the park.
a) may
b) might
c) will
d) can
Answer: b) might – ‘May’ changes to ‘might’ in indirect speech. - Direct: “I bought a car yesterday,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ a car the day before.
a) bought
b) had bought
c) has bought
d) buys
Answer: b) had bought – Past simple → past perfect. - Direct: “I am feeling ill,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ ill.
a) is feeling
b) was feeling
c) felt
d) has felt
Answer: b) was feeling – Present continuous → past continuous. - Direct: “I must complete this work today,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ complete that work that day.
a) must
b) had to
c) should
d) could
Answer: b) had to – ‘Must’ → ‘had to’ in reported speech. - Direct: “I have been working here for five years,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ there for five years.
a) has been working
b) had been working
c) worked
d) was working
Answer: b) had been working – Present perfect continuous → past perfect continuous. - Direct: “I will help him if he needs me,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ help him if he needed her.
a) will
b) would
c) can
d) might
Answer: b) would – Future → would; conditionals also adjust. - Direct: “I saw him in the market last week,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ him in the market the previous week.
a) saw
b) had seen
c) sees
d) has seen
Answer: b) had seen – Past simple → past perfect. - Direct: “I am going to start a new project,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ to start a new project.
a) is going
b) was going
c) went
d) goes
Answer: b) was going – Present continuous → past continuous. - Direct: “I cannot attend the meeting,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she _______ attend the meeting.
a) cannot
b) could not
c) may not
d) should not
Answer: b) could not – ‘Cannot’ → ‘could not’ in indirect speech. - Direct: “I finished my homework before dinner,” he said.
Indirect: He said that he _______ his homework before dinner.
a) finished
b) had finished
c) has finished
d) finishes
Answer: b) had finished – Past simple → past perfect.
Section 5: Mixed / Conditional / Past Perfect / Tricky Forms (25 Questions)
- Fill in the blank: “If I _______ (know) about the traffic, I would have left earlier.”
a) knew
b) know
c) had known
d) have known
Answer: c) had known – Past unreal conditional requires past perfect. - Correct the sentence: “He do his homework yesterday.”
a) He does his homework yesterday.
b) He did his homework yesterday.
c) He done his homework yesterday.
d) He doing his homework yesterday.
Answer: b) He did his homework yesterday – Past tense requires did + base verb. - Choose the correct sentence:
a) She have gone to school yesterday.
b) She went to school yesterday.
c) She goes to school yesterday.
d) She going to school yesterday.
Answer: b) She went to school yesterday – Simple past for completed action. - Fill in the blank: “By the time we arrived, the train _______ (already / leave).”
a) already leaves
b) already left
c) had already left
d) has already left
Answer: c) had already left – Past perfect for earlier past action. - Correct the sentence: “I was knowing him since childhood.”
a) I know him since childhood.
b) I knew him since childhood.
c) I have known him since childhood.
d) I had known him since childhood.
Answer: c) I have known him since childhood – ‘Know’ is stative verb; present perfect continuous used for duration. - Choose the correct option: “He said he _______ (go) to the market the previous day.”
a) went
b) had gone
c) goes
d) is going
Answer: b) had gone – Past perfect used in reported speech. - Fill in the blank: “She _______ (not / see) him before he left.”
a) did not saw
b) did not see
c) not saw
d) not see
Answer: b) did not see – Negative past uses base verb. - Correct the sentence: “He was played cricket yesterday.”
a) He played cricket yesterday.
b) He was playing cricket yesterday.
c) He has played cricket yesterday.
d) He plays cricket yesterday.
Answer: a) He played cricket yesterday – Past simple for completed action. - Fill in the blank: “I _______ (finish) my homework before dinner.”
a) finished
b) have finished
c) had finished
d) finishes
Answer: a) finished – Past simple for completed action. - Choose correct past tense: “They _______ (meet) us at the station yesterday.”
a) met
b) have met
c) meets
d) meeting
Answer: a) met – Simple past for past event. - Fill in the blank: “He _______ (study) English for five years before moving abroad.”
a) studied
b) had studied
c) studies
d) has studied
Answer: b) had studied – Past perfect for action completed before another past action. - Correct the sentence: “She did not knew the answer.”
a) did not know
b) did not knew
c) does not know
d) know
Answer: a) did not know – Base verb after ‘did not’. - Fill in the blank: “If he _______ (be) more careful, he would not have lost the keys.”
a) was
b) had been
c) is
d) were
Answer: b) had been – Past unreal conditional → past perfect. - Choose the correct sentence:
a) I had gone there last week.
b) I went there last week.
c) I gone there last week.
d) I was gone there last week.
Answer: b) I went there last week – Simple past with specific time. - Fill in the blank: “She _______ (leave) before I arrived.”
a) left
b) had left
c) has left
d) leaves
Answer: b) had left – Past perfect for action before another past action. - Correct the sentence: “He was knowing the answer.”
a) He knew the answer.
b) He has known the answer.
c) He had known the answer.
d) He knowed the answer.
Answer: a) He knew the answer – ‘Know’ is stative verb; no continuous tense. - Fill in the blank: “They _______ (already / finish) the work when I arrived.”
a) already finished
b) had already finished
c) have already finished
d) already finishes
Answer: b) had already finished – Past perfect for action completed before another past action. - Choose correct form: “I _______ (not / see) him since Monday.”
a) did not see
b) have not seen
c) had not seen
d) not see
Answer: b) have not seen – Present perfect for action continuing up to present. - Fill in the blank: “By the time he arrived, the movie _______ (start).”
a) started
b) had started
c) has started
d) starts
Answer: b) had started – Past perfect for earlier past action. - Correct the sentence: “I didn’t went to the market.”
a) didn’t went
b) didn’t go
c) didn’t gone
d) didn’t going
Answer: b) didn’t go – Base verb after ‘did not’. - Fill in the blank: “She _______ (already / leave) when I called her.”
a) already leaves
b) had already left
c) has already left
d) already left
Answer: b) had already left – Past perfect for earlier past action. - Choose the correct past tense: “I _______ (buy) a new laptop last week.”
a) buy
b) bought
c) have bought
d) buying
Answer: b) bought – Simple past. - Fill in the blank: “If he _______ (study) harder, he would have passed the exam.”
a) studied
b) had studied
c) studies
d) has studied
Answer: b) had studied – Past unreal conditional → past perfect. - Correct the sentence: “They was very happy yesterday.”
a) was
b) were
c) is
d) be
Answer: b) were – Plural subject requires ‘were’. - Fill in the blank: “I _______ (see) him at the party last night.”
a) see
b) saw
c) seen
d) seeing
Answer: b) saw – Simple past of ‘see’.