Grammar Quiz

Narrative Tenses Quiz


Preview:


Don’t help us, Dad.  Jill and I can paint the car all by ______________.

A. myself

B. themselves

C. ourselves

D. yourselves


I ___________ Italy last summer.

A. visited

B. had visited

C. had been watching had been visiting


What tense is used to talk about the main actions in a story?

A. Past simple

B. Past continuous

C. Future perfect

D. Past perfect


When telling a story, which tense is commonly used for main events or actions?

A. Present simple

B. Past continuous

C. Future simple

D. Past simple


……. the doctor arrived, his temperature had reached 40°C.

A. While

B. When

C. After

D. By the time


He_____________five letters to the manager by the time he finally received an answer.

A. wrote

B. was writing

C. had written

D. had been writting


Jerry arrived late to the station, the train ____ 10 minutes before

A. left

B. was leaving

C. had left


Which tense is often used to describe ongoing actions or background events in a narrative?

A. Past perfect

B. Past continuous

C. Present perfect

D. Past perfect continuous


The burglar _____ to open the safe when he _____ the owner come in.

A. tried/heard

B. was trying/heard

C. had been trying/had heard

D. tried/was hearing


We ____ to solve a mystery when Phil ____ home.

A. tried / had come

B. were trying / came

C. had tried / was coming


The engineers _________ (invent) a new system for transporting water last year.

A. invented

B. was inventing

C. had invent


Which tenses do we use to show an interupted action in the past?

A. past simple and past continuous

B. past continuous and past perfect

C. past perfect and past simple


I _____ it off as quickly as I could, but for many weeks afterwards, my classmates were always asking whether I’d brought any pets to class in my bag that day.

A. switch

B. switched

C. was switching


What is a primary function of using narrative tenses in storytelling?

A. To confuse the reader

B. To create suspense

C. All are correct

D. To organize events in a logical sequence


In a sequence of events, which tense is typically used for the earliest action?

A. Past continuous

B. Past perfect continuous

C. Present continuous

D. Past perfect


While I was having a Meet my computer suddenly ____________ working!

A. was stopping

B. had stopped

C. had been stopping

D. stopped


By the time we arrived at the party most people ___________!

A. left

B. were leaving

C. had already left

D. had already been leaving


A Why _________ (they / not send) the order yesterday?

B They couldn’t because _________ (they / not receive) confirmation of the address.

A. hadn’t they sent / they weren’t receiving

B. weren’t they sending / they hadn’t received

C. didn’t they send / they hadn’t received


Philip was washing the car ……………………the fire started. 

A. when

B. while


Which word is more formal: ‘respond to’ or ‘answer’?

A. answer

B. respond to sb


He _____ asleep at all.

A. wasn’t

B. hadn’t been

C. wasn’t being


A_________ (I / not speak) to you yesterday because you looked busy when I saw you.

B Yes, _________ (I / try) to repair my printer when you came in.

A. I wasn’t speaking / I tried

B. I had spoken / I tried

C. I didn’t speak / I was trying


A Why _________ (you / take) the train home yesterday?

B My car is in the garage. I had an accident while _________ (I / drive) to work.

A. had you taken / I had driven

B. did you take / I was driving

C. was you taking / I were driving


It’s not uncommon for people to fall asleep on trains, but snoring loudly in public is another matter. One day recently, I _____ my newspaper on the train when I became aware of a loud snoring sound coming from the man opposite me.

A. read

B. was reading

C. had read


Everyone _____ laughing and looking around for the animal.

A. had started

B. started




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