Tense Worksheet for Class 8 English with Answers

Introduction to Tenses

A tense of a verb shows the time when an action takes place. There are three primary tenses in English grammar:

1. Present Tense
2. Past Tense
3. Future Tense

Each of these tenses is further divided into four subcategories: Simple (Indefinite), Continuous (Progressive), Perfect, and Perfect Continuous.

Also Check: Tense Chart

Present Tense

Simple Present Tense

• Uses:
  • A habitual action (e.g., “I go for a walk daily.”)
  • A general truth (e.g., “The sun rises in the east.”)
  • What is happening in exclamatory sentences (e.g., “Here comes the chief guest!”)
  • An order or request (e.g., “Obey your teachers.”)

Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb (Present Tense)

1. I ……… in Model Town. (live)
2. The mother ……… food for us. (cook)
3. She ……. to the temple every morning. (go)
4. He ……… on me whenever he wants. (call)
5. I …….. what my sister (eat)
6. My father …………. from his office in the evening. (return)
7. They …………. football every evening. (play)
8. I …………. everybody well. (wish)
9. The cat …………. rats. (kill)
10. The farmers ………….. rain. (need)

Answers

1. live
2. cooks
3. goes
4. calls
5. eat, eats
6. returns
7. play
8. wish
9. kills
10. need

Present Continuous Tense

• Formation: [Is/am/are + Verb + ing]
• Uses:
  • To describe an action in progress (e.g., “The girls are singing a chorus.”)
  • To describe an action in progress but not necessarily at the time of speaking (e.g., “India is exporting onions to the Middle East.”)

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. Look! the sun ………… (rise)
2. Why ……….. you ………….. so fast? (run)
3. The children ………. in the park. (play)
4. Mohini ……….. a novel now. (read)
5. Water …………. from the running tap. (flow)
6. …………… it ………… outside now? (rain)
7. What …………. your sister these days? (do)
8. I ………… tonight. (return)
9. They …………… for Kanpur tomorrow. (leave)
10. Why ………… you ……….. a noise? (make)

Answers

1. is rising
2. are, running
3. are playing
4. is reading
5. is flowing
6. Is, raining
7. is, doing
8. am returning
9. are leaving
10. are, making

Also Check: CBSE Class 9 English Tenses Worksheet

Present Perfect Tense

• Formation: [Subject + Has/have + III form of the verb]
• Uses:
  • To express an action that has been recently completed (e.g., “I have just received the letter.”)
  • To describe a past experience (e.g., “I have seen this picture several times.”)
  • To express an action that began in the past and still continues (e.g., “He has worked in this school for five years.”)

Exercise 3: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. Where ………… you ………… your purse? (lose)
2. ………… she not yet ………… her work? (finish)
3. How many sums ………… she …………? (solve)
4. My sister ………… from Meerut presently. (return)
5. Raju ………… Saroj since 1980. (know)
6. Asha ………… never ………… the Red Fort. (see)
7. ………… you not ………… your bath as yet? (take)
8. I ………… not ………… my lesson. (revise)
9. We ………… not ………… from Rajni for the last four months. (hear)
10. She ………… in Delhi for eight years. (live)

Answers

1. have, lost
2. Has, finished
3. has, solved
4. has returned
5. has known
6. has, seen
7. Have, taken
8. have, revised
9. have, heard
10. has lived

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

• Formation: [Subject + has/have + been + Verb + ing]
• Uses:
  • To describe an action that began in the past, is still continuing, and may extend into the future (e.g., “She has been waiting for you for three hours.”)
  • To express an action in a sentence that begins with “For how long” or “Since when” (e.g., “For how long have you been sitting here?”)

Exercise 4: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. It ………… outside for half an hour. (hail)
2. The storm ………… since 4 O’clock. (howl)
3. I ………… for the bus since morning. (wait)
4. Since when ………… you ………… in this school? (read)
5. It ………… not ………… since midnight. (rain)
6. She ………… midnight oil for five years. (burn)
7. I ………… for the examination for one year. (prepare)
8. Malaria ………… in this city since July. (rage)
9. How long ………… you ………… for me? (wait)
10. The washerman ………… our clothes since 1985. (wash)

Answers

1. has been hailing
2. has been howling
3. have been waiting
4. have, been reading
5. has, been raining/has, rained
6. has burnt/has been burning
7. have been preparing
8. has been raging
9. have, been waiting/have, waited
10. has been washing

Also Check: Tenses Worksheet Class 6

Past Tense

Simple Past Tense

• Uses:
  • To express an action completed in the past (e.g., “I saw many birds in the zoo.”)
  • To express habitual or regular action in the past (e.g., “Gandhiji always spoke the truth.”)
  • To express an event that occurred at a particular point in the past (e.g., “My father came back home yesterday.”)

Exercise 5: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. I ………… your letter this morning. (receive)
2. How many deer ………… you ………… in the zoo? (see)
3. My father ………… a new house last month. (buy)
4. Prices ………… by forty per cent last year. (rise)
5. Columbus ………… America. (discover)
6. Thousands of people ………… their lives in the earthquake. (lose)
7. Gangu ………… ten rupees from me. (borrow)
8. When ………… you ………… from Allahabad? (return)
9. I ………… to her house on foot. (go)
10. A thief ………… into our garage last night. (break)

Answers

1. received
2. did, see
3. bought
4. rose
5. discovered
6. lost
7. borrowed
8. did, return
9. went
10. broke

Past Continuous Tense

• Formation: [Subject + was/were + Verb + ing]
• Uses:
  • To express an action that was happening in the past at the time of speaking (e.g., “The old lady was crying at the top of her voice.”)
  • To express an action that was happening when another action took place (e.g., “My mother was cooking the food when I reached home.”)

Exercise 6: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. The baby ………… in the room. (weep)
2. Children ………… a noise in the class. (make)
3. Why ………… you ………… at her? (look)
4. We saw the aeroplane while it ………… (take off)
5. The students ………… their morning prayer when I reached their school. (say)
6. I ………… my beard when the telephone bell rang. (shave)
7. My mother ………… when I returned home. (sleep)
8. The old lady ………… the Gita when the guests arrived. (read)
9. Mother ………… tea for us when the school bus honked. (prepare)
10. She found that the baby ………… bitterly. (cry)

Answers

1. was weeping
2. were making
3. did, look
4. was taking off
5. were saying
6. was shaving
7. was sleeping
8. was reading
9. was preparing
10. was crying

3. Past Perfect Tense

• Formation: [Subject + had + III form of the Verb]
• Uses:
  • To express an action completed before another action took place (e.g., “When he came to me, I had posted the letter.”)
  • To express an unfulfilled action in the past (e.g., “If she had worked hard she would have passed.”)
  • To denote the action or event which has been completed before some point of time (e.g., “By afternoon he had completed much work.”)

Exercise 7: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. Mohan ………….. already ………….. his breakfast. (take)
2. If she ………….. for the examination she would not have failed. (prepare)
3. The bell ………….. before I reached the school. (go)
4. The patient ………….. before the doctor arrived. (die)
5. She ………….. not ………….. the place before her husband permitted her. (leave)
6. ………….. the child ………….. before his mother returned from office? (sleep)
7. The rain ………….. when we stepped out of our house. (stop)
8. If you ………….. her, she would have got first division. (help)
9. The cinema show ………….. when I reached the hall. (start)
10. If she ………….. a bus, she would have caught the train. (board)

Answers

1. had taken
2. had prepared
3. had gone
4. had died
5. had, left
6. Had, slept
7. had stopped
8. had helped
9. had started
10. had boarded

Also Check: Tenses Worksheet for Class 10

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

• Formation: [Subject + had + been + Verb + ing]
• Uses:
  • To express an action that had been going on for some time in the past (e.g., “Children had been playing since morning.”)
  • To express an action that had been going on for some time before another action took place in the past (e.g., “They had been playing chess for two hours when I joined them.”)

Exercise 8: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. She ………….. hard since December. (study)
2. Sarla ………….. her lover for many years. (befool)
3. How long ………….. the two neighbours ………….. when a third one joined them? (quarrel)
4. I ………….. for four hours when you knocked at my door. (sleep)
5. Tenzing ………….. to climb Everest for many years before he succeeded in his mission. (try)

Answers

1. had been studying
2. had been befooling
3. had, been quarrelling
4. had been sleeping
5. had been trying

Future Tense

Simple Future Tense

• Formation: [Shall/will + Verb]
• Uses:
  • To express an action or event that is likely to happen in the future (e.g., “We shall see the picture tomorrow.”)

Exercise 9: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. Dinesh ………….. for us at the appointed time. (wait)
2. When Sarla calls on me, I ………….. my clothes. (iron)
3. The gardener ………….. the plants next month. (water)
4. Sonu ………….. his lesson tomorrow at this time. (revise)
5. Mohini ………….. tea when you enter her room. (make)
6. The patient ………….. rest when the doctor arrives. (take)
7. The peon ………….. the bell when I reach the school. (ring)
8. Sharda ………….. for Madras this time tomorrow. (leave)
9. We ………….. our courses by the end of January. (complete)

Answers

1. will wait
2. will be ironing
3. will water
4. will be revising
5. will be making
6. will be taking
7. will ring
8. will be leaving
9. will complete

Future Continuous Tense

• Formation: [Will/shall + be + Verb + ing]
• Uses:
  • To express an event that is expected to take place in the normal course or at some time in the future (e.g., “We shall be playing a football match on Sunday.”)

Exercise 10: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. The picture ………….. by the time we reach the hall. (start)
2. ………….. you ………… your studies by 2009? (finish)
3. The farmers ………….. not ………… the harvest before September. (reap)
4. I ………….. exercise before the sun rises. (take)
5. He ………….. his lesson by next week. (learn)

Answers

1. will have started
2. Will, have finished
3. will, have reaped
4. shall have taken
5. will have learnt

Future Perfect Tense

• Formation: [Shall/will + have + III form of the Verb]
• Uses:
  • To express an action that is expected to be completed by a certain time in the future (e.g., “She will have covered half of her journey by Monday next.”)

Exercise 11: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. They ………….. the sums since morning. (solve)
2. We ………….. in the river for three hours before noon. (bathe)
3. We ………….. our time during examination days. (not waste)
4. The farmers ………….. the fields since 2008. (plough)
5. ………….. he ………… for you for an hour? (wait)
6. By next year, I ………….. in Jaipur for seven years. (live)
7. Our school team ………….. the other team for the seventh time. (defeat)
8. She ………….. since 8 A.M. before I reach home at noon. (study)

Answers

1. will have solved
2. will have been bathing
3. will not waste
4. will have been ploughing
5. Will, have waited
6. will have been living
7. will have defeated
8. will have been studying

Also Check: CBSE Class 11 English Core Tenses Worksheet

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

• Formation: [Shall/will + have been + Verb + ing]
• Uses:
  • To express an action that will have been going on at or before some point of time in the future (e.g., “We shall have been waiting for you for a long time.”)

Exercise 12: Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verbs given in brackets

1. Dinesh ………….. for us at the appointed time. (wait)
2. When Sarla calls on me, I ………….. my clothes. (iron)
3. The gardener ………….. the plants next month. (water)
4. Sonu ………….. his lesson tomorrow at this time. (revise)
5. Mohini ………….. tea when you enter her room. (make)
6. The patient ………….. rest when the doctor arrives. (take)
7. The peon ………….. the bell when I reach the school. (ring)
8. Sharda ………….. for Madras this time tomorrow. (leave)
9. We ………….. our courses by the end of January. (complete)

Answers

1. will be waiting
2. will be ironing
3. will be watering
4. will be revising
5. will be making
6. will be taking
7. will be ringing
8. will be leaving
9. will be completing

Common Errors in the Use of Verbs

Incorrect: He is pass in English.
Correct: He passes in English.

Incorrect: Burn the lamp.
Correct: Light the lamp.

Incorrect: When will you give the test?
Correct: When will you take the test?

Incorrect: The teacher will take our test in English next week.
Correct: The teacher will give us a test in English next week.

Incorrect: I am ill for four days.
Correct: I have been ill for four days.

Incorrect: She gave a speech.
Correct: She made a speech.

Incorrect: Our team made two goals.
Correct: Our team scored two goals.

Incorrect: I wish I was young again.
Correct: I wish I were young again!

Incorrect: He talks as if he is mad.
Correct: He talks as if he were mad.

Incorrect: What make you laugh?
Correct: What makes you laugh?

Incorrect: I hanged my coat on the peg.
Correct: I hung my coat on the peg.

Incorrect: The murderer was hung.
Correct: The murderer was hanged.

Incorrect: Two and two makes four.
Correct: Two and two make four.

Incorrect: They have come this morning.
Correct: They came this morning.

Incorrect: He was so thirsty that he drunk all the milk.
Correct: He was so thirsty that he drank all the milk.

Incorrect: I hope he will fail.
Correct: I fear he will fail.

Incorrect: I saw into the bus, but looked none.
Correct: I looked into the bus, but saw none.

Incorrect: He works hard lest he should not fail.
Correct: He works hard lest he should fail.

Incorrect: Our hen has given ten eggs.
Correct: Our hen has laid ten eggs.

Incorrect: He fell off the roof and died.
Correct: He fell off the roof and was dead.

Exercise 13: Fill in the blanks choosing one word for each blank from the box. You may use a word or phrase more than once.

Box: knocked, injured, had died, was reading, died, was turning, sat, slipped, was mowing, crossed, arrived.

1. He ………….. the room and ………….. down in the chair.
2. As he ………….. left on the road, a bus ………….. him down.
3. He ………….. and ………….. his leg.
4. The passenger ………….. a newspaper.
5. He was seventy years old when he …………..
6. The doctor came after the patient …………..
7. I noticed that his hair ………….. grey.
8. When we ………….. he ………….. the lawn.

Answers

1. crossed, sat
2. was turning, knocked
3. slipped, injured
4. was reading
5. died
6. had died
7. was turning
8. arrived, was mowing

Rearranged Questions

1. The students ………… their morning prayer when I reached their school. (say)
2. Water ………… at 100°C. (boil)
3. I ………… not ………… my lesson. (revise)
4. How many deer ………… you ………… in the zoo? (see)
5. It ………… not ………… since midnight. (rain)

Answers

1. were saying
2. boils
3. have, revised
4. did, see
5. has, been raining/has, rained