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

1  (c) bought

• Why it’s correct: “Ten years ago” is a specific, finished time in the past, requiring the Past Simple tense.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “have bought” (Common Mistake) uses Present Perfect, which cannot be used with a specific past time marker. (b) “was buying” (Strong Distractor) emphasizes an ongoing past action, which doesn’t fit the context of a single, completed purchase. (d) “buyed” (Structural Error) is grammatically incorrect as “buy” is an irregular verb.

2  (c) was looking

• Why it’s correct: The Past Continuous is used for a longer background action that was interrupted by a shorter action (“struck me”).
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “looked” (Common Mistake) fails to show the continuous nature of the background action. (b) “am looking” (Structural Error) is present tense, clashing with the past tense “struck”. (d) “have looked” (Strong Distractor) connects to the present, which makes no sense in a finished past narrative.

3  (a) carry

• Why it’s correct: “Nowadays” and “always” indicate a current, repeated habit, requiring the Present Simple.
• Analysis of distractors: (b) “am carrying” (Strong Distractor) is Present Continuous; while “always” can be used with continuous tenses to express annoyance, here it’s just a neutral fact. (c) “have carried” (Structural Error) implies an action up to now, not a general routine. (d) “carries” (Common Mistake) is conjugated for he/she/it, not “I”.

4  (c) have taken

• Why it’s correct: “Since” indicates an action that started in the past and continues to the present, requiring the Present Perfect.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “have took” (Structural Error) uses the wrong past participle form. (b) “took” (Common Mistake) is Past Simple and ignores the connection to the present established by “since”. (d) “taking” (Structural Error) lacks an auxiliary verb.

5  (a) will host

• Why it’s correct: “Next week” indicates the future. “Will host” correctly expresses a future intention or scheduled event here (though “am hosting” would also work, “will host” is the only correct future form provided).
• Analysis of distractors: (b) “will hosting” (Structural Error) improperly mixes a modal with an -ing verb. (c) “host” (Strong Distractor) can be used for timetables, but an online class is a personal arrangement, making Future Simple or Continuous better. (d) “hosted” (Common Mistake) is past tense.

6  (b) am working

• Why it’s correct: “At the moment” requires the Present Continuous to describe an action happening right now.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “work” (Common Mistake) is Present Simple, used for routines, not temporary current projects. (c) “have worked” (Strong Distractor) implies completion or past experience. (d) “was working” (Structural Error) is past tense.

7  (c) had saved

• Why it’s correct: The Past Perfect is used to show that one action (“had saved”) was completely finished before another action in the past (“bought”).
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “saved” (Common Mistake) is Past Simple and doesn’t clearly show the sequence of events. (b) “have saved” (Structural Error) mixes present perfect with a finished past narrative. (d) “was saving” (Strong Distractor) focuses on the process but doesn’t capture the completed accumulation of money prior to the purchase as well as the Past Perfect does.

8  (d) have been filming

• Why it’s correct: The Present Perfect Continuous emphasizes the duration (“for two hours”) of an action that started in the past, is still ongoing, and has a visible result in the present (“hands are freezing”).
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “am filming” (Common Mistake) doesn’t account for the duration (“for two hours”). (b) “have filmed” (Strong Distractor) focuses on the completed result rather than the ongoing, exhausting process. (c) “film” (Structural Error) is for general routines.

9  (c) will be capturing

• Why it’s correct: The Future Continuous describes an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future (“tomorrow at 6 AM”).
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “will capture” (Common Mistake) states a future fact but misses the “in-progress” aspect. (b) “will have captured” (Strong Distractor) means the action will already be finished by 6 AM. (d) “capture” (Structural Error) is present tense.

10  (b) taught

• Why it’s correct: The mentor “passed away last year,” meaning the period in which he taught is completely finished. This requires the Past Simple.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “teaches” (Structural Error) is present tense. (c) “has taught” (Common Mistake) implies a connection to the present (e.g., the mentor is still alive and teaching). (d) “had been teaching” (Strong Distractor) requires another past action to anchor it, which is missing here.

11  (a) will have expanded

• Why it’s correct: “By the end of this year” is a deadline. The Future Perfect is used for actions that will be completed before a specific future time.
• Analysis of distractors: (b) “will expand” (Common Mistake) doesn’t convey the sense of completion by the deadline. (c) “would expand” (Structural Error) is a conditional/past future form. (d) “will be expanding” (Strong Distractor) suggests the expansion will be ongoing exactly at the end of the year, rather than completed by then.

12  (d) was resting

• Why it’s correct: “While” introduces a longer background action in the past that was interrupted by a sudden event (“flew”). This requires the Past Continuous.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “rested” (Common Mistake) doesn’t emphasize the continuous nature of the background action. (b) “rests” (Structural Error) is present tense. (c) “has rested” (Strong Distractor) is Present Perfect, clashing with the past tense “flew”.

13  (b) opens

• Why it’s correct: The Present Simple is used for future events that are part of a fixed timetable, schedule, or program (like an exhibition opening, train departing, etc.).
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “is opening” (Strong Distractor) works for personal arrangements, but “opens” is the standard, most natural choice for an official scheduled event “at 8 PM sharp”. (c) “will have opened” (Structural Error) means it would already be open before 8 PM. (d) “has opened” (Common Mistake) is Present Perfect.

14  (d) had been waiting

• Why it’s correct: The Past Perfect Continuous shows the cause (“waiting for hours”) of a past state (“was devastated/battery died”), emphasizing the duration leading up to a moment in the past.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “waited” (Common Mistake) doesn’t emphasize the long, continuous duration prior to the battery dying. (b) “have been waiting” (Structural Error) mixes present perfect continuous with a past narrative. (c) “was waiting” (Strong Distractor) doesn’t clearly show that the waiting happened leading up to the camera dying.

15  (a) will have been working

• Why it’s correct: “By the time… next month” sets a future deadline, and “for exactly three years” shows duration. This requires the Future Perfect Continuous.
• Analysis of distractors: (b) “will have worked” (Strong Distractor) focuses on completion rather than the ongoing process up to that point. (c) “have been working” (Common Mistake) ignores the future deadline. (d) “will be working” (Structural Error) ignores the duration (“for three years”).

16  (c) changed

• Why it’s correct: “Last month” is a specific, finished time in the past, requiring the Past Simple, despite the first half of the sentence being in the present.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “have changed” (Common Mistake) is often incorrectly used by learners who see the present context (“followers ask”) and forget that “last month” demands the past tense. (b) “had changed” (Strong Distractor) would mean it happened before another past action, which isn’t the case here. (d) “was changing” (Structural Error) implies an interrupted action.

17  (b) believe

• Why it’s correct: “Believe” is a stative verb (a verb of thought/opinion) and is almost never used in continuous tenses, even with the time marker “Right now”.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “am believing” (Common Mistake) incorrectly applies the present continuous rule to a stative verb. (c) “have believed” (Structural Error) clashes with “Right now”. (d) “believed” (Strong Distractor) is past tense.

18  (c) would change

• Why it’s correct: The sentence requires “Future in the Past.” The speaker is in the past (“knew”) looking forward to an event that was in the future at that time. “Will” becomes “would”.
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “will change” (Common Mistake) incorrectly uses the present future form inside a past narrative. (b) “is going to change” (Structural Error) also fails to shift back a tense. (d) “changes” (Strong Distractor) is present simple.

19  (a) was always falling

• Why it’s correct: The Past Continuous with “always” is used to express a repeated, annoying habit in the past.
• Analysis of distractors: (b) “has always fallen” (Structural Error) is Present Perfect, which doesn’t fit the past context (“was terrible”). (c) “is always falling” (Common Mistake) is present tense. (d) “always falls” (Strong Distractor) is a present routine, not a past annoyance.

20  (b) have filled

• Why it’s correct: The Present Perfect Simple is used when focusing on the completed result or quantity (“three memory cards”) of an action in an unfinished time period (“today”).
• Analysis of distractors: (a) “have been filling” (Strong Distractor) is incorrect because we use the continuous aspect for duration, but the simple aspect when stating how many things have been completed. (c) “filled” (Common Mistake) is Past Simple, but “today” is an unfinished time period where the action might continue. (d) “had filled” (Structural Error) is Past Perfect.

• State vs. Action Verbs: Remember that stative verbs (believe, know, want, belong) are rarely used in continuous tenses, even when words like “right now” are present (e.g., I believe, not I am believing).
• Focus on Result vs. Focus on Duration: Use the Present Perfect Simple when counting how many things you have completed (e.g., I have taken 100 photos). Use the Present Perfect Continuous to emphasize how long you have been doing something (e.g., I have been shooting for two hours).
• Future in the Past: When narrating a past event and talking about something that was in the future at that moment, shift “will” to “would” (e.g., I knew it would rain).
• Annoying Habits: You can use “always” with continuous tenses (Present Continuous or Past Continuous) to complain about a repeated, annoying action (e.g., My camera was always falling over).
• Deadlines and Durations: Pay attention to future markers. “By [time]” usually triggers a Perfect tense (Future Perfect). “By [time]” + “for [duration]” triggers the Future Perfect Continuous.