What it tests
Grammar in context: tenses and their sequence, modal verbs, linking words, verb patterns and fixed phrases.
In the exam: part II, 17 tasks.
Step by step
- Read the whole paragraph first — the time frame (past, present, future) is often set by the sentences around the gap.
- Look at what comes right before and after the gap: a subject, an auxiliary, a preposition, “to”…
- Decide what kind of word fits (verb form, linking word, preposition) before looking at the options.
- Check time signals: ago, since, by the time, already, while, tomorrow.
- Read the sentence again with your answer — it must sound complete and logical.
Watch out for
- Choosing a tense from the sentence alone when the paragraph is clearly in the past.
- Mixing up similar forms: had done / has done / did, to do / doing.
- Linking words with opposite meaning: because / although, so / but.
Example
By the time we arrived, the film (1)____. a) has started b) had started c) starts d) was starting
b) had started — “by the time we arrived” marks a past moment; the film started before it, so we need the past perfect.