Mixed Tenses (12 Tenses) – English Grammar Exercises for B2

1  (C) am presenting

• Why it’s correct: The Present Continuous is used for an action happening right now or a temporary action around the present time (delivering a presentation today).
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “present” (Common Mistake) is Present Simple, which is used for permanent routines or general facts, not a specific ongoing presentation. (B) “have presented” (Strong Distractor) implies the presentation is already finished. (D) “presented” (Structural Error) is past tense.

2  (B) will outline

• Why it’s correct: “Will” (Future Simple) is commonly used in presentations to signpost what the speaker is planning to do or structure the talk (e.g., “I will outline,” “We will look at”).
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “am outlining” (Strong Distractor) implies doing it right at this exact second, whereas the speaker is stating an agenda for the upcoming minutes. (C) “outline” (Structural Error) is present tense. (D) “outlined” (Common Mistake) is past tense.

3  (D) discovered

• Why it’s correct: “In 2018” is a specific, finished time in the past. This requires the Past Simple tense.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “has discovered” (Common Mistake) uses Present Perfect, which strictly cannot be used with a specific finished time marker like “in 2018”. (B) “discovers” (Structural Error) is present tense. (C) “was discovering” (Strong Distractor) implies an ongoing interrupted action, not a completed scientific achievement.

4  (A) have attempted

• Why it’s correct: “Over the last decade” indicates a time period starting in the past and continuing up to the present moment. This requires the Present Perfect.
• Analysis of distractors: (B) “attempted” (Common Mistake) cuts off the connection to the present. (C) “are attempting” (Strong Distractor) only focuses on right now, ignoring the “over the last decade” duration. (D) “attempt” (Structural Error).

5  (C) plays

• Why it’s correct: Stating a general scientific fact or fundamental truth always requires the Present Simple.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “is playing” (Common Mistake) incorrectly suggests this is a temporary situation rather than a universal scientific rule. (B) “played” (Structural Error) puts a universal fact in the past. (D) “has played” (Strong Distractor).

6  (A) were focusing

• Why it’s correct: The Past Continuous (“were focusing”) is used to describe a longer, background action in the past during which another action (“overlooked”) occurred.
• Analysis of distractors: (B) “focused” (Common Mistake) doesn’t emphasize the ongoing nature of their research process as well as the continuous tense does in this comparison. (C) “have focused” (Strong Distractor) clashes with the past tense “overlooked”. (D) “are focusing” (Structural Error).

7  (B) has replicated

• Why it’s correct: The word “yet” signals that an action is expected but hasn’t happened from the past up until the present moment, requiring the Present Perfect.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “replicated” (Common Mistake) ignores the “yet” connection to the present. (C) “is replicating” (Strong Distractor) means someone is doing it right now, contradicting “nobody”. (D) “replicates” (Structural Error).

8  (D) is adapting

• Why it’s correct: “Right now” indicates an action in progress at the moment of speaking, requiring the Present Continuous.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “adapts” (Common Mistake) is Present Simple, used for permanent routines. (B) “adapted” (Structural Error) is past tense. (C) “has adapted” (Strong Distractor) implies the adaptation process is entirely finished, which contradicts “right now”.

9  (C) will be extracting

• Why it’s correct: “By this time tomorrow” points to a specific moment in the future when an action will be in progress. This requires the Future Continuous.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “will extract” (Common Mistake) just states a future fact but misses the “in progress at a specific time” nuance. (B) “have extracted” (Structural Error). (D) “are extracting” (Strong Distractor) is present continuous.

10  (A) had reviewed

• Why it’s correct: The Past Perfect is used to show that one action (“had reviewed”) was completely finished before another past action (“initiated”) took place.
• Analysis of distractors: (B) “reviewed” (Common Mistake) is Past Simple; while understandable, it doesn’t emphasize the necessary chronological sequence as clearly as Past Perfect. (C) “have reviewed” (Strong Distractor) mixes present perfect into a finished past timeline. (D) “were reviewing” (Structural Error).

11  (C) has been developing

• Why it’s correct: “For the past six months” emphasizes the uninterrupted duration of an action that started in the past and is still going on. This requires the Present Perfect Continuous.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “is developing” (Common Mistake) cannot be used with “for [duration] up to now”. (B) “developed” (Structural Error) means the process is finished. (D) “develops” (Strong Distractor) is for general facts.

12  (B) was going to last

• Why it’s correct: “Future in the Past.” The speaker is referring back to a past belief (“thought”) about something that was in the future at that time. “Is going to” must be backshifted to “was going to”.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “will last” (Common Mistake) fails to backshift the tense in a past narrative. (C) “has lasted” (Structural Error). (D) “lasts” (Strong Distractor).

13  (A) will explain

• Why it’s correct: In a presentation, when making a promise or a spontaneous decision to cover something later (“later in the presentation”), the Future Simple (“will”) is the standard choice.
• Analysis of distractors: (B) “am explaining” (Common Mistake) is present continuous, implying it’s happening right now. (C) “explain” (Structural Error). (D) “have explained” (Strong Distractor) means it’s already done.

14  (D) illustrates

• Why it’s correct: When referring to what a figure, graph, or table shows in a presentation, we use the Present Simple (it is a permanent fact that the figure shows this).
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “is illustrating” (Common Mistake) incorrectly treats the figure’s static property as a temporary ongoing action. (B) “illustrated” (Structural Error) is past tense. (C) “has illustrated” (Strong Distractor).

15  (C) will have completed

• Why it’s correct: “By the end of this academic year” establishes a future deadline. To state that an action will be entirely finished before that deadline, we use the Future Perfect.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “will complete” (Common Mistake) lacks the sense of completion prior to a specific deadline. (B) “would complete” (Structural Error). (D) “have completed” (Strong Distractor) is present perfect.

16  (A) would not be discussing

• Why it’s correct: This is a Mixed Conditional (Type 3 + Type 2). The “if” clause is in the past (“had addressed”), but the result is happening “today”. Therefore, we use “would (not) be + V-ing” for the present ongoing result.
• Analysis of distractors: (B) “will not discuss” (Common Mistake) mixes a past hypothetical with a real future. (C) “did not discuss” (Structural Error). (D) “had not discussed” (Strong Distractor) would be correct only if the result was also in the past (Type 3), but the word “today” changes the timeline.

17  (B) had been making

• Why it’s correct: The Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes the duration (“for weeks”) of an ongoing past action that was abruptly stopped by another past action (“equipment malfunctioned”).
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “has been making” (Common Mistake) uses Present Perfect Continuous, which clashes with the finished past narrative. (C) “were making” (Strong Distractor) doesn’t capture the accumulated duration leading up to the break as effectively. (D) “made” (Structural Error).

18  (A) has been proven

• Why it’s correct: “Recent journals” and “numerous times” indicate actions that have occurred repeatedly up to the present moment. This requires the Present Perfect (in the passive voice).
• Analysis of distractors: (B) “was proven” (Strong Distractor) is Past Simple, which implies a specific past event rather than accumulated recent evidence. (C) “is proving” (Structural Error) is active and continuous, not fitting here. (D) “had been proven” (Common Mistake) requires a past anchor to be valid.

19  (D) rests

• Why it’s correct: “Rest” in the context of a hypothesis (meaning “depends” or “is based on”) is a stative verb. Stative verbs are not used in continuous tenses, even with the word “Currently”.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “is resting” (Common Mistake) incorrectly applies the present continuous rule just because the word “Currently” is present. (B) “rested” (Structural Error). (C) “has rested” (Strong Distractor).

20  (C) will have been researching

• Why it’s correct: A future deadline (“next spring”) combined with a duration of time (“for nearly four years”) requires the Future Perfect Continuous to emphasize the uninterrupted length of the research process up to that future point.
• Analysis of distractors: (A) “have been researching” (Common Mistake) ignores the future deadline. (B) “will have researched” (Strong Distractor) focuses on the completion of the action rather than the continuous duration emphasized by “for nearly four years”. (D) “will be researching” (Structural Error) ignores the duration completely.

• Citing Research: Use the Past Simple when referring to a specific study published in a specific year (e.g., Smith discovered X in 2015). Use the Present Perfect to talk about a body of research over time up to now, or when the time of publication isn’t mentioned (e.g., Several scholars have attempted to prove this).
• Signposting in Presentations: When you are outlining your talk or making spontaneous decisions on what to show, use the Future Simple (e.g., I will outline, I will explain this later). Use the Present Continuous to declare what you are doing right now (e.g., Today, I am presenting).
• Referring to Figures/Data: Use the Present Simple to describe what graphs, tables, or charts show, as it is considered a permanent fact (e.g., Figure 3 illustrates, NOT is illustrating).
• Emphasizing Deadlines and Duration: When you project yourself into the future to a specific deadline, use the Future Perfect for completed actions (By May, I will have finished). If you want to highlight how long you have been doing it up to that future deadline, use the Future Perfect Continuous (I will have been researching for four years).
• Stative Verbs Trap: Beware of adverbs like Currently or Right now. If the verb describes a state, possession, or relationship (like believe, belong, rest on, consist of), it remains in the Present Simple, never the continuous form.