9. Practice Section

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This section brings together everything covered in Sections 2 through 8 in one place, organized into three practice formats that mirror how competitive exams actually test verbs: error-spotting, fill-in-the-blank tense selection, and multiple-choice verb-form questions. Work through each part with a timer if possible — roughly forty-five seconds per question is a realistic exam pace — and mark your answers before checking the key, since the diagnostic value of practice comes from discovering what you got wrong, not from reading explanations passively. A complete answer key with brief explanations for all one hundred questions follows at the end of the section.

The three formats are deliberately different from one another, and that difference is itself part of the practice. Error-spotting (Part A) tests whether you can locate a problem inside a sentence that gives you no hint about which word to examine — the hardest and most realistic skill, since real exams rarely tell you what kind of mistake to look for. Fill-in-the-blank tense selection (Part B) isolates the narrower skill of choosing the correct tense once you already know where the gap is, which is useful for confirming that a shaky Part A score is a tense problem specifically rather than a broader reading problem. Verb-form MCQs (Part C) isolate a third, still narrower skill: choosing the correct grammatical form of a verb — base, gerund, infinitive, past participle — once you already know which verb belongs and roughly which tense it needs, which tests Section 5's patterns and the mechanical rules from Section 8's later patterns more directly than raw tense knowledge. A candidate who is strong on Parts B and C but weak on Part A usually has the underlying grammar knowledge but needs more practice simply noticing where, in an unmarked sentence, to direct that knowledge — which is a different kind of practice from re-reading rules, and one that only repeated, timed attempts at exactly this kind of unmarked sentence can build.

9.1 Part A — Error Spotting (Questions 1–35)

Each sentence below is divided into three underlined segments, labeled (a), (b), and (c), followed by option (d), "No error." Identify which segment contains a grammatical error, or select (d) if the sentence is correct as written.

He (a) has visited / (b) his grandmother / (c) two days ago. (d) No error
The committee (a) have decided / (b) to postpone / (c) the annual meeting. (d) No error
She (a) always looks after of / (b) her younger brother / (c) very carefully. (d) No error
If it (a) will rain / (b) tomorrow, / (c) we will stay indoors. (d) No error
The officer said that (a) the sun / (b) rose / (c) in the east. (d) No error
The letter (a) was wrote / (b) by him / (c) last night. (d) No error
I enjoy (a) to read / (b) novels / (c) in my free time. (d) No error
A number of students (a) has failed / (b) to submit / (c) their assignments. (d) No error
He (a) is knowing / (b) the correct answer / (c) to this question. (d) No error
She got her hair (a) cutting / (b) yesterday / (c) at the salon. (d) No error
Can she (a) speaks / (b) three languages / (c) fluently? (d) No error
The report (a) submitted / (b) to the manager / (c) yesterday. (d) No error
I (a) am living / (b) in this city / (c) since 2015. (d) No error
When I (a) reached / (b) the station, / (c) the train left. (d) No error
Each of the candidates (a) were given / (b) ten minutes / (c) to prepare. (d) No error
Neither the teacher nor the students (a) was informed / (b) about / (c) the change. (d) No error
I wish I (a) knew / (b) the answer / (c) to last year's question paper. (d) No error
The jury (a) is divided / (b) in their opinions / (c) on the verdict. (d) No error
She is one of the students who (a) has scored / (b) above ninety percent / (c) in the exam. (d) No error
He not only (a) wrote the report / (b) but also / (c) is presenting it himself. (d) No error
The information (a) provided in the report / (b) were / (c) incorrect. (d) No error
The number of accidents on this road (a) have increased / (b) sharply / (c) this year. (d) No error
Fifty percent of the workers (a) was / (b) absent / (c) today. (d) No error
There (a) is / (b) many reasons / (c) to doubt his story. (d) No error
The principal, along with the teachers, (a) are attending / (b) the seminar / (c) this afternoon. (d) No error
Many a student (a) have failed / (b) this difficult / (c) examination. (d) No error
Hardly (a) he sat down / (b) when / (c) the phone rang. (d) No error
She (a) was laying / (b) on the bed / (c) when I entered the room. (d) No error
I will call you (a) when / (b) I will reach / (c) home. (d) No error
If she had taken that job offer, (a) she would living / (b) in Mumbai / (c) now. (d) No error
Unless you (a) don't hurry, / (b) you will / (c) miss the bus. (d) No error
He always (a) looks forward / (b) to meet / (c) his old friends. (d) No error
My scissors (a) is / (b) missing / (c) from the drawer. (d) No error
"The Three Musketeers" (a) are / (b) a classic / (c) adventure novel. (d) No error
Water (a) is boiling / (b) at one hundred degrees / (c) Celsius at sea level. (d) No error

9.2 Part B — Fill in the Correct Tense (Questions 36–65)

Choose the option that correctly fills the blank.

By this time next year, I ____ my degree. (A) will complete (B) will have completed (C) complete (D) completed
She ____ three novels so far. (A) writes (B) wrote (C) has written (D) is writing
They ____ football when it started to rain. (A) played (B) were playing (C) had played (D) play
If I ____ you, I would apologize immediately. (A) am (B) was (C) were (D) had been
He ____ here since 2010. (A) works (B) worked (C) has been working (D) is working
By the time we arrived, the movie ____. (A) already started (B) had already started (C) has already started (D) already starts
I ____ my work by 6 p.m. tomorrow. (A) will finish (B) finish (C) will have finished (D) am finishing
She usually ____ the bus to work, but today she is driving. (A) takes (B) took (C) is taking (D) has taken
Look at those clouds! It ____ soon. (A) rains (B) will rain (C) is going to rain (D) rained
He ____ Japan before last year's trip. (A) never visited (B) had never visited (C) has never visited (D) never visits
While she ____ dinner, the phone rang. (A) cooked (B) was cooking (C) cooks (D) has cooked
If it rains tomorrow, we ____ the picnic. (A) cancel (B) will cancel (C) would cancel (D) canceled
This time next week, I ____ on a beach in Goa. (A) will lie (B) will be lying (C) lie (D) lay
He wishes he ____ harder for last year's exam. (A) studied (B) had studied (C) studies (D) would study
The train ____ by the time we reached the platform. (A) left (B) had left (C) has left (D) leaves
I ____ him for ten years now. (A) know (B) knew (C) have known (D) am knowing
She ____ that book twice already. (A) reads (B) read (C) has read (D) is reading
If they had invested early, they ____ millionaires today. (A) will be (B) would be (C) would have been (D) had been
By next month, he ____ at this company for five years. (A) will work (B) will have worked (C) works (D) worked
We ____ for over an hour when the bus finally arrived. (A) waited (B) had been waiting (C) have waited (D) wait
She ____ her homework yet. (A) doesn't finish (B) hasn't finished (C) didn't finish (D) isn't finishing
As soon as he ____, we will start the meeting. (A) will arrive (B) arrives (C) arrived (D) is arriving
They ____ when I called. (A) already left (B) had already left (C) have already left (D) already leave
I ____ her at the conference next week. (A) meet (B) am meeting (C) met (D) have met
He used to ____ but he quit two years ago. (A) smoking (B) smoke (C) smoked (D) smokes
If she ____ medicine, she would have been a doctor now. (A) studied (B) had studied (C) studies (D) would study
The children ____ when the earthquake struck. (A) slept (B) were sleeping (C) had slept (D) sleep
Provided that you ____ your work, you can leave early. (A) will finish (B) finish (C) finished (D) are finishing
By the end of this year, scientists ____ a new vaccine. (A) will develop (B) develop (C) will have developed (D) developed
I wish I ____ taller. (A) am (B) was (C) were (D) had been

9.3 Part C — Choose the Correct Verb Form (Questions 66–100)

She avoids ____ junk food. (A) eat (B) to eat (C) eating (D) ate
He decided ____ his own business. (A) starting (B) start (C) to start (D) started
I need to get my laptop ____ before the exam. (A) repair (B) repairing (C) repaired (D) to repair
The chairman, who has ____ the company for a decade, is retiring. (A) led (B) lead (C) leaded (D) leading
She admitted ____ the money. (A) to steal (B) stealing (C) steal (D) stole
They stopped ____ to rest for a while. (A) walking (B) to walk (C) walk (D) walked
Would you mind ____ the window? (A) to close (B) close (C) closing (D) closed
He can't help ____ whenever he watches that movie. (A) cry (B) to cry (C) crying (D) cried
She was ____ to the airport by her brother. (A) drive (B) driven (C) drove (D) driving
This shirt needs ____ before you wear it. (A) iron (B) ironing (C) to iron (D) ironed
He denied ____ involved in the scandal. (A) to be (B) being (C) be (D) been
The bridge ____ collapse if it isn't repaired soon. (A) may (B) mays (C) is may (D) can to
I look forward to ____ from you soon. (A) hear (B) heard (C) hearing (D) to hear
She managed ____ the deadline despite the setbacks. (A) meeting (B) to meet (C) meet (D) met
He regrets ____ so harshly to his colleague last year. (A) to speak (B) speak (C) having spoken (D) spoke
They postponed ____ the decision until next week. (A) to make (B) making (C) make (D) made
The suspect was ____ of theft. (A) accuse (B) accusing (C) accused (D) accuses
I would rather you ____ that report today. (A) finish (B) finished (C) will finish (D) finishing
He ____ his coat by the time we left the restaurant. (A) forgot (B) had forgotten (C) has forgotten (D) forgets
She ____ never ____ such a beautiful sunset before. (A) has / seen (B) had / seen (C) have / seen (D) did / see
The children were made ____ their rooms before dinner. (A) clean (B) to clean (C) cleaning (D) cleaned
He is used to ____ up early every morning. (A) wake (B) waking (C) woke (D) to wake
By next year, this bridge ____ for a decade. (A) will stand (B) will have stood (C) stands (D) stood
She suggested ____ the meeting to Friday. (A) to postpone (B) postpone (C) postponing (D) postponed
I saw him ____ the building just before the alarm rang. (A) to leave (B) leaving (C) left (D) leaves
The witness's statement, if ____, could change the verdict. (A) believe (B) believed (C) believing (D) to believe
He narrowly escaped ____ by the falling debris. (A) to hit (B) hitting (C) being hit (D) hit
The team's morale ____ dramatically after the loss. (A) has fell (B) has fallen (C) has felt (D) had fall
She promised ____ us as soon as she landed. (A) calling (B) to call (C) call (D) called
He ____ his keys somewhere in the office. (A) has lain (B) has laid (C) has lay (D) has lied
I object to ____ treated like a child. (A) be (B) being (C) been (D) to be
The building has ____ empty since the fire. (A) stood (B) stand (C) stood been (D) standing
They finally got the machine ____ after months of trying. (A) work (B) working (C) worked (D) to work
The old law was eventually ____ by the new parliament. (A) overthrew (B) overthrown (C) overthrow (D) overthrowing
He apologized for ____ late to the meeting. (A) arrive (B) arriving (C) to arrive (D) arrived

9.4 Complete Answer Key with Explanations

Part A — Error Spotting

(a) — "two days ago" is a specific, finished past-time marker, so the verb must be simple past "visited," not present perfect (Pattern 4).
(a) — "committee" here acts as one undivided body, so it needs the singular "has decided" (Rule 1).
(a) — "look after" is already a complete phrasal verb; adding "of" is a common but incorrect insertion (Pattern 28).
(a) — a first-conditional if-clause never contains "will"; it needs simple present "rains" (Pattern 9).
(b) — a universal, timeless fact keeps its present tense even in past-tense reported speech: "rises," not "rose" (Pattern 29).
(a) — the passive voice needs the past participle "written," not the simple past form "wrote" (Pattern 21).
(a) — "enjoy" is one of the verbs that takes only a gerund, so it must be "reading," not "to read" (Section 5.1).
(a) — "a number of" is a plural quantifier, so it takes "have failed," not "has failed" (Rule 3).
(a) — "know" is a stative verb and does not take the continuous form; it should simply be "knows" (Pattern 12).
(a) — in a causative construction the object receives the action, so it should be "cut," the past participle, not "cutting" (Pattern 27).
(a) — after the modal "can," the following verb must stay in its base form: "speak," not "speaks" (Pattern 19).
(a) — the passive auxiliary "was" is missing; it should read "was submitted" (Pattern 20).
(a) — "since 2015" requires a perfect tense, so it should be "have been living," not "am living" (Pattern 1).
(c) — the train's departure happened before the narrator's arrival was even completed as background, but since "reached" is the reference point and the train left earlier, it needs past perfect: "had left" (Pattern 7).
(a) — "each of" is a singular quantifier regardless of the plural noun that follows, so it needs "was given," not "were given" (Rule 10).
(a) — with "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject "students," so it should be "were informed" (Rule 7).
(a) — a wish about a past regret needs past perfect: "had known," not "knew" (Pattern 17).
(a) — here "jury" is functioning with divided individual opinions, i.e., the members sense, so it needs "are divided" (Rule 2).
(a) — "one of the students who" describing the whole group of scorers needs the plural "have scored" (Rule 20).
(c) — the correlative pair "not only...but also" should carry matching past tense: "presented," not "is presenting" (Pattern 30).
(b) — "information" is an uncountable noun and always takes a singular verb: "was," not "were" (Rule 13).
(a) — "the number of" is the true singular subject, so it needs "has increased," not "have increased" (Rule 4).
(a) — the verb must agree with "workers," the noun after "of," so it should be "were," not "was" (Rule 12).
(a) — the real subject "reasons" is plural, so "there" must be followed by "are," not "is" (Rule 17).
(a) — the phrase "along with the teachers" does not change the number of the subject "principal," so it needs "is attending" (Rule 18).
(a) — "many a" always takes a singular verb: "has failed," not "have failed" (Rule 22).
(a) — "hardly...when" requires past perfect with inversion for the first action: "had he sat down" (Pattern 32).
(a) — the intended meaning is reclining, so it should be "lying," not "laying" (Pattern 33).
(b) — a future time clause introduced by "when" cannot contain "will"; it should be "I reach" (Pattern 14).
(a) — the mixed-conditional main clause needs "would be living," not "would living," which is missing its auxiliary "be."
(a) — "unless" already means "if not," so adding "don't" creates a double negative; it should be "hurry."
(b) — "look forward to" is followed by a gerund because "to" here is a preposition, not part of an infinitive: "to meeting" (Section 5.5).
(a) — "scissors" is a plural-only noun and takes a plural verb: "are," not "is" (Rule 30).
(a) — a book title, though plural in form, names one single work and takes a singular verb: "is" (Rule 15).
(a) — a permanent scientific fact needs simple present, not the continuous: "boils," not "is boiling" (Pattern 13).

Part B — Fill in the Correct Tense

(B) — "by this time next year" signals completion before a future point: future perfect.
(C) — "so far" pairs with present perfect for an unfinished, ongoing count.
(B) — an interrupted past action in progress needs past continuous.
(C) — a second-conditional if-clause always uses "were," regardless of subject.
(C) — "since 2010" needs present perfect continuous for an unbroken, still-continuing action.
(B) — "by the time we arrived" sets a past deadline, requiring past perfect for the earlier event.
(C) — "by 6 p.m. tomorrow" is a future deadline, requiring future perfect.
(A) — a habitual routine ("usually") needs present simple.
(C) — visible present evidence ("those clouds") signals "going to," not the plain "will."
(B) — an action before another past time point ("last year's trip") needs past perfect.
(B) — an ongoing past action interrupted by another event needs past continuous.
(B) — the main clause of a first conditional carries the future meaning with "will."
(B) — a planned action in progress at a specific future moment needs future continuous.
(B) — a regret about a past exam needs past perfect after "wish."
(B) — the train's departure happened before "we reached," so past perfect is required.
(C) — "for ten years now" with a stative verb needs present perfect, not the continuous.
(C) — "already" with unspecified past time signals present perfect.
(B) — the main clause of this mixed/hypothetical-present conditional needs "would be."
(B) — "by next month...for five years" needs future perfect for a duration completed by a future point.
(B) — a long action up to an interrupting past event needs past perfect continuous.
(B) — "yet" in a negative statement pairs with present perfect.
(B) — the future time clause after "as soon as" takes present simple.
(B) — "already" describing an action before another past action ("when I called") needs past perfect.
(B) — a fixed future arrangement ("next week") is naturally expressed with present continuous.
(B) — "used to" is always followed by the bare base form of the verb.
(B) — the past-perfect if-clause of a mixed conditional (past cause, present result) requires "had studied."
(B) — an action in progress when a sudden past event occurred needs past continuous.
(B) — "provided that" behaves like a first-conditional connector and takes present simple.
(C) — "by the end of this year" signals future perfect.
(C) — a present unreal wish always uses "were," matching Pattern 16.

Part C — Choose the Correct Verb Form

(C) — "avoid" is followed only by a gerund.
(C) — "decide" is followed only by a to-infinitive.
(C) — a causative "get something done" needs the past participle "repaired."
(A) — the correct past participle of "lead" is "led," not "leaded."
(B) — "admit" is followed only by a gerund.
(B) — "stop + to-infinitive" expresses purpose (stopped in order to rest), the meaning intended here.
(C) — "mind" is followed only by a gerund.
(C) — "can't help" is followed only by a gerund.
(B) — the passive voice needs the past participle "driven."
(B) — "need + gerund" carries a passive meaning ("needs to be ironed").
(B) — "deny" is followed only by a gerund.
(A) — modal verbs like "may" have only one form and take no "-s" or "to."
(C) — "look forward to" takes a gerund because "to" is a preposition here.
(B) — "manage" is followed only by a to-infinitive.
(C) — "regret" followed by a gerund referring to an earlier action uses the perfect gerund "having spoken" for a past regret.
(B) — "postpone" is followed only by a gerund.
(C) — the passive voice needs the past participle "accused."
(B) — "would rather" followed by a different subject takes a past-tense verb for a present/future wish.
(B) — forgetting the coat happened before leaving the restaurant, so past perfect is required.
(A) — "never...before" without an earlier past reference point pairs naturally with present perfect.
(B) — the causative passive "was/were made to + base verb" always keeps "to."
(B) — "be used to" is followed by a gerund, unlike "used to + base form."
(B) — "by next year...for a decade" needs future perfect.
(C) — "suggest" is followed only by a gerund.
(B) — a verb of perception ("saw") followed by an action in progress takes the "-ing" form.
(B) — the conditional clause implies "if it is believed," so the past participle "believed" is correct.
(C) — "escape" describing something happening to the subject needs the passive gerund "being hit."
(B) — the correct past participle of "fall" is "fallen."
(B) — "promise" is followed only by a to-infinitive.
(B) — the intended verb is "lay" (to place), whose past participle is "laid," not "lain" (the past participle of "lie").
(B) — "object to" takes a gerund because "to" is a preposition here.
(A) — "stand" describing a continuing state since a point in time needs the perfect "has stood."
(B) — a causative "get something doing" expresses making a machine function, using "working."
(B) — the passive voice needs the past participle "overthrown."
(B) — "apologize for" is followed by a gerund because "for" is a preposition.

9.5 Diagnosing Your Own Mistakes

Scoring these one hundred questions tells you how many you got right; it does not, by itself, tell you what to fix. Two candidates who both score seventy out of a hundred can have entirely different gaps — one might be shaky on the twelve tenses themselves, while the other has the tenses solid but keeps losing marks on subject–verb agreement. Treating a single overall score as the diagnosis is one of the most common ways learners waste the last few weeks before an exam revising material they have already mastered while the actual weak point goes untouched. Before moving on from this section, take five minutes to sort your wrong answers into four buckets, using the explanations in Section 9.4 as your guide: tense-selection errors (you picked the wrong tense entirely, not just the wrong form of the right tense), agreement errors (the tense was arguably right but the subject and verb didn't match in number), pattern errors (a fixed construction like a phrasal verb, a causative, or a gerund/infinitive choice tripped you up), and careless errors (you actually knew the rule but misread the sentence or mis-marked your answer under time pressure).

If most of your misses fall in the first bucket, your priority for the coming weeks is Section 2 and the twelve tenses themselves — go back to the signal words for each tense and drill them until picking the right tense stops requiring conscious thought. If the second bucket dominates, Section 7's thirty-two rules are your priority, and you should specifically re-do the "write your own wrong/fix pair" exercise from Week 5 of the study plan for every rule you keep missing. If the third bucket is largest, Section 5's gerund/infinitive tables and Section 3.6's phrasal verbs need another active-recall pass, since pattern errors respond less to understanding a rule and more to sheer repeated exposure to the specific fixed expressions. And if the fourth bucket — careless errors — turns out to be surprisingly large, that is itself useful diagnostic information: it tells you that your grammar knowledge is probably adequate and your actual bottleneck is exam-day reading speed and attention management, which no amount of additional grammar study will fix. In that case, the better use of your remaining preparation time is timed practice under realistic pressure, not more rule review.

One more diagnostic habit worth building: whenever you get a question wrong during any later revision pass, don't just note the correct answer — say out loud, in one sentence, why the option you chose was wrong and why the correct option is right. Passive correction (seeing the right answer and moving on) barely improves recall. Active correction (articulating the reasoning yourself) is what actually rewires the instinct this guide keeps returning to as its real goal.

It also helps to keep a running, physical error log rather than relying on memory of what tripped you up. A simple two-column notebook — the wrong sentence on the left, the corrected sentence with the rule name on the right — turns a hundred scattered practice questions into a short, personalized document that grows more valuable the closer you get to your exam, because by the final week it contains almost nothing but your own genuine remaining weak points, stripped of everything you have already mastered. Re-reading that self-built log in the last few days before an exam is, for most candidates, a better use of time than re-reading this guide's full sections a second time, precisely because it has already been filtered down to exactly what still needs work.

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