How the task looks
You get a short text (a story, a biography, a historical or scientific text) with numbered gaps. For each gap there are four options, and most of them are forms of the same verb: rang / was ringing / had rung / has rung. Sometimes the options are modal verbs: must / had to / could / was able to.
So the question is almost never “what does the word mean?”. The question is: which form is correct in this place of this text? To answer, you need to know three things: when the action happens, how it relates to other actions, and who does it.
Symbols used below
S = subject; V1 = base form (write); V2 = past simple (wrote); V3 = past participle (written); V-ing = -ing form (writing). Auxiliary verbs: be, have, do. Modal verbs: can, could, may, might, must, should, will, would.
Step-by-step method
- Read the whole text first, without filling anything. Decide what kind of text it is: a story about one past event? a description of the present? general facts? history?
- Find the time frame. Most stories are in the past: the main events are in Past Simple, and other tenses are used relative to them.
- For each gap, ask: who does the action? If the subject does it — active. If something is done to the subject — passive (was built, is used).
- Look for time markers (yesterday, since 2010, already, at that moment, by the time…). They help, but always check the meaning too.
- Ask how this action relates to the others: did it happen before another past action? was it in progress when something happened? does it continue up to now?
- Check agreement: singular subject — is / was / has; plural — are / were / have.
- Reread the whole paragraph with your answers. The story must be logical.
Tenses at a glance
| Tense | Form | Main use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | V1 / V1-s | habits, facts, timetables | Water boils at 100 °C. |
| Present Continuous | am/is/are + V-ing | now, temporary situations | Look! It is snowing. |
| Present Perfect | have/has + V3 | past action with a result now, experience, unfinished period | I have lost my key. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | have/has been + V-ing | action that started in the past and is still going on (how long) | She has been waiting for an hour. |
| Past Simple | V2 / did + V1 | finished action at a finished time; events of a story | He arrived in 1998. |
| Past Continuous | was/were + V-ing | action in progress at a past moment; background | I was reading when the phone rang. |
| Past Perfect | had + V3 | action before another past action | The train had left when we arrived. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | had been + V-ing | long action up to a past moment | He had been working all day, so he was tired. |
| Future Simple | will + V1 | prediction, decision now, promise | I think it will rain. |
| be going to | am/is/are going to + V1 | plan, evidence now | Look at the clouds — it is going to rain. |
| Future Continuous | will be + V-ing | action in progress at a future moment | At 9 tomorrow I will be flying to Paris. |
| Future in the past | would + V1 | future seen from the past | She said she would call. |
Time markers
| Tense | Typical markers |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | always, usually, often, every day, on Mondays, never |
| Present Continuous | now, at the moment, right now, Look!, Listen!, these days |
| Present Perfect | already, just, yet, ever, never, so far, recently, since, for, this week |
| Present Perfect Continuous | for two hours, since morning, all day, how long |
| Past Simple | yesterday, ago, last year, in 1990, when I was a child |
| Past Continuous | at 5 o’clock yesterday, while, when + another past action, all evening |
| Past Perfect | by the time, before, after, already (in a past story), by 2010 |
| Future | tomorrow, next week, soon, in two days, I think |
A marker is a hint, not a rule. Already goes with Present Perfect in a present situation (I have already eaten) but with Past Perfect in a past story (When he came, I had already eaten).
Past Simple or Present Perfect?
This is the most common choice in the exam.
- Past Simple — the time is finished and known (or clear from the story): yesterday, in 2005, two years ago, when he was young. Also for people who are dead and for finished historical events.
- Present Perfect — the time is not finished or not mentioned, and the result or experience matters now: I have read this book (I know it now).
✗ I have seen him yesterday. → ✓ I saw him yesterday. (yesterday is finished)
✗ Shakespeare has written many plays. → ✓ Shakespeare wrote many plays. (his life is finished)
✓ My grandfather has written three books. — he is alive, his life is not finished, and the result exists now
Past Simple or Past Continuous?
In a story, Past Simple gives the events (what happened next), and Past Continuous gives the background (what was going on at that moment).
I was walking home when it started to rain. — the long action was interrupted by a short one
While she was cooking, he was reading. — two actions in progress at the same time
He opened the door, took off his coat and sat down. — a chain of events: all Past Simple
Past Simple or Past Perfect?
Use Past Perfect when you need to show that an action happened before another past action, and the order is important.
When we reached the station, the train had left. — first the train left, then we arrived
When we reached the station, the train left. — we arrived, and then it left
After before and after the order is already clear, so Past Simple is also possible: After he finished / had finished, he went home. Do not use Past Perfect for every past action; use it only for the “earlier past”.
Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous?
- Present Perfect — the result: She has written three letters. (how many — result)
- Present Perfect Continuous — the activity and its duration: She has been writing letters all morning. (how long — process)
A situation in the present + for/since + an action still going on usually means the continuous form: She looks angry. She has been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.
Verbs that are not used in the continuous
State verbs describe states, not actions, and usually do not take -ing: know, understand, believe, like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, belong, own, seem, mean, remember.
✗ I am knowing the answer. → ✓ I know the answer.
✗ This bag is belonging to me. → ✓ This bag belongs to me.
Active or passive?
Ask: does the subject do the action, or is the action done to the subject?
The statue was built in the 5th century BC. — people built it; the statue did not build anything
Aluminium is found in a rock called bauxite. — people find it
Golf first appeared in Scotland. — appear has no object, so it cannot be passive: ✗ was appeared
Passive = be in the right tense + V3. The form of be shows the tense: is used, was used, has been used, will be used, is being used. See Section 11 for all forms.
Modal verbs in a text
| Meaning | Present / general | Past |
|---|---|---|
| ability | can | could (general ability); was/were able to, managed to (one specific success) |
| obligation | must, have to | had to |
| no necessity | don’t have to, needn’t | didn’t have to, didn’t need to |
| permission | can, may | could, was allowed to |
| possibility | may, might, could | may/might/could have + V3 |
| advice | should, ought to | should have + V3 (it was a good idea, but it was not done) |
| prohibition | mustn’t, can’t | couldn’t, wasn’t allowed to |
In the past, must (obligation) becomes had to: The road was closed, so we had to take another route.
For one specific achievement in the past use was able to / managed to, not could: After six hours, the climbers were able to reach the top.
After a modal verb always use V1 without to (except ought to, have to, be able to): ✗ can to swim, ✗ must went.
Future in time clauses and future in the past
After when, as soon as, until, before, after, if, unless use the present for the future: ✓ I will call you when I arrive. ✗ when I will arrive.
When the story is in the past, a future action is shown with would: Nobody knew then what would happen next.
Agreement in the text
- Singular subject → is / was / has / does / V1-s. Plural → are / were / have / do / V1.
- Everyone, nobody, each, every + singular: Everybody was happy.
- The number of + singular: The number of tourists has grown. A number of (= many) + plural: A number of tourists have come.
- Uncountable nouns (information, news, money, advice, furniture) are singular: The news was good.
- There is / There are depends on the noun after it: There is so much to see. There are many places to visit.
The most common mistakes
| ✗ Wrong | ✓ Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I have seen him yesterday. | I saw him yesterday. | finished time → Past Simple |
| When I came, she cooked dinner. | When I came, she was cooking dinner. | action in progress → Past Continuous |
| He was appeared on TV. | He appeared on TV. | appear cannot be passive |
| The bridge built in 1990. | The bridge was built in 1990. | passive needs be |
| I will tell you when he will come. | I will tell you when he comes. | present after when for the future |
| She has been knowing him for years. | She has known him for years. | know is a state verb |
| I could pass the exam yesterday. | I was able to pass the exam yesterday. | one specific success |
| He must leave early yesterday. | He had to leave early yesterday. | past obligation = had to |
Worked example
“Last Saturday I (1) ___ in the garden when I (2) ___ a strange noise. I went inside and saw that someone (3) ___ the window. The police (4) ___ immediately, and the thief (5) ___ an hour later.”
(1) a) worked b) was working c) have worked d) had worked
Background action in progress, interrupted by the noise → Past Continuous.
(2) a) heard b) was hearing c) had heard d) have heard
Short event in the story → Past Simple. Hear is also a state-like verb, so was hearing is unlikely.
(3) a) broke b) has broken c) had broken d) was broken
The window was broken before I saw it → Past Perfect. Was broken would be passive, but someone did the action, and there is an object (the window), so we need active.
(4) a) called b) were called c) have called d) were calling
Somebody called the police; the police did not call → passive. Police is plural → were.
(5) a) caught b) has caught c) was caught d) had caught
The thief did not catch anyone; he was caught → passive, Past Simple.
Final checklist
- Have I read the whole text and decided its time frame?
- Who does the action — active or passive?
- Does the action happen before, during or after another action?
- Is the time finished (Past Simple) or connected to now (Present Perfect)?
- Is the verb a state verb (no -ing)?
- After a modal — V1 without to? After when/if for the future — present?
- Does the verb agree with its subject?
- Does the whole paragraph make sense with my answers?