Fill in the blanks with an appropriate tense form.
1. She said that she ......................................
When the main verb is in the past tense, use a past tense in the subordinate clause as well.
2. Where they have disappeared ............................... a mystery.
3. What she ............................ shocked me.
4. I will watch a movie if I ................................ time tomorrow.
When the main verb is in the future tense, we use a present tense in the subordinate clause to refer to future.
5. She said that she ............................ me.
6. He asked me if I ............................ his keys.
'Have you seen my keys?' he asked. A present perfect in the direct question become a past perfect in the reported question.
7. The masons said that they ................................ the job by evening.
8. As he .............................. his leg, he cannot walk now.
9. She said that she no longer ................................ me.
10. The children .............................. in the garden when it started raining.
Use the past continuous tense to talk about a background action that was going on when another action interrupted it.
11. I waited and waited but she ..............................
12. I will wait until he ............................
When both clauses refer to the future, use a simple present in the subordinate clause.
Answers
1. She said that she was not coming.
2. Where they have disappeared is a mystery.
3. What she said shocked me.
4. I will watch a movie if I have time tomorrow.
5. She said that she loved me.
6. He asked me if I had seen his keys.
7. The masons said that they would finish the job by evening.
8. As he has broken his leg, he cannot walk now.
9. She said that she no longer trusted me.
10. The children were playing in the garden when it started raining.
11. I waited and waited but she didn’t come.
12. I will wait until he returns.
