Perfect and Future Tenses: B1 Exercises

Every answer with the reason behind it. Read the explanation for the ones you got right as well — that is where you find out whether you were right for the right reason.

Multiple choice questions — answers

1. I ___ my keys, so I cannot get into the flat. → have lost

The present perfect ties a past event to a present consequence: the keys are still missing now.

2. By the time we arrived, the film ___. → had already started

The past perfect marks the earlier of two past events.

3. By next summer I ___ here for ten years. → will have worked

The future perfect looks back from a point in the future at something completed by then.

4. Look at those clouds — it ___ rain. → is going to

Going to is the form for a prediction based on evidence you can see right now.

5. That is the doorbell. I ___ it. → will get

Will marks a decision taken at the moment of speaking; going to would imply you had planned it.

6. We ___ dinner with the Harrisons on Friday — it has been in the diary for weeks. → are having

The present continuous is the natural form for a fixed personal arrangement.

7. The train ___ at 6.42 every weekday morning. → leaves

The present simple is used for timetables and scheduled public events.

8. She ___ for three hours, which is why she looks exhausted. → has been running

The present perfect continuous stresses the duration of an activity with a visible present result.

9. How long ___ you known each other? → have

How long with a state verb takes the present perfect, because the relationship began in the past and continues.

10. I ___ that film three times, and I would happily watch it again. → have seen

An unfinished period of time — your whole life so far — takes the present perfect.

11. This time next week I ___ on a beach in Portugal. → will be lying

The future continuous describes an action that will be in progress at a stated future moment.

12. Which sentence is correct? → I saw him yesterday.

A finished time expression like yesterday blocks the present perfect and forces the past simple.

13. He ___ in Madrid before he moved to Lisbon. → had lived

Two past events, so the earlier one takes the past perfect.

14. By the end of this course you ___ over a thousand exercises. → will have completed

By plus a future point is the classic trigger for the future perfect.

15. I have been reading that novel ___ three weeks. → for

For measures a length of time; since names the point it started.

16. What is the difference between 'I have painted the kitchen' and 'I have been painting the kitchen'? → The first stresses the finished result, the second the activity

The simple form points at the completed result; the continuous points at the process, which may still be unfinished.

17. Don't call at eight — we ___ dinner then. → will be eating

The future continuous explains why the moment is inconvenient: the action will already be under way.

18. She ___ never ___ to Japan before that trip. → had / been

Before that trip fixes a past reference point, so the earlier experience takes the past perfect.

19. I ___ to visit my grandmother this weekend — I decided last Tuesday. → am going

A decision already taken and an arrangement in place: the present continuous, not will.

20. They ___ the bridge by the time the festival opens. → will have finished

By the time plus a present-tense clause sets a deadline, and the future perfect meets it.

Fill-in-the-blank questions — answers

1. I ___ just finished the report, so you can read it now. → have

Just with a present result takes the present perfect: have plus the past participle.

2. By nine o'clock tomorrow the results ___ have been published. → will

Will have plus a past participle is the future perfect, used with a future deadline.

3. When I got to the platform, the train ___ already left. → had

The past perfect marks the earlier of two events in the past.

4. She has been waiting ___ half past two. → since

Since introduces the point at which the period began; for would need a length.

5. We ___ going to redecorate, but the quote was far too high. → were

Was or were going to describes an intention that was never carried out.

6. This time next month I ___ be living in Vienna. → will

Will be plus the -ing form is the future continuous, for an action in progress at a future time.

7. How long ___ you been learning Italian? → have

The present perfect continuous asks about a duration that continues into the present.

8. The plane ___ off at 07:15 according to the timetable. → takes

Scheduled public transport takes the present simple, not a future form.

9. He ___ been feeling unwell all week, so he stayed at home. → had

The past perfect continuous gives the background reason for a past decision.

10. I ___ never eaten oysters before last Saturday. → had

A stated past moment turns the experience into a past perfect.

11. Careful with that vase — you ___ going to drop it! → are

Going to is the form for a prediction based on what you can see happening.

12. By the time you read this, I ___ have left the country. → will

Future perfect: the departure is complete before the future moment of reading.

13. They have lived in that cottage ___ over twenty years. → for

For introduces a length of time; since would need a starting point.

14. What ___ you doing at eight o'clock this evening? → are

The present continuous asks about a fixed arrangement rather than a prediction.

15. She ___ been studying since dawn and she is still at her desk. → has

The present perfect continuous stresses an activity that started in the past and is still going.

16. I promise I ___ tell anyone your secret. → won't

A promise made at the moment of speaking takes will, negated to won't.

17. We wanted to travel that spring, but the borders ___ closed by then. → had

The past perfect places the closure earlier than the past moment being described.

18. ___ you finished with the scanner yet? → Have

Yet in a question pairs with the present perfect to ask about a result up to now.

19. In two years' time this company ___ have doubled in size. → will

Future perfect with a stated future deadline: will have plus a past participle.

20. The lecture ___ at four, so we should leave at half three. → starts

A fixed timetabled event takes the present simple even though it refers to the future.

Sentence structure: word ordering — answers

1. Report a completed task with a present result. → I have already sent the invoice.

Report a completed task with a present result.

2. Order two past events with the past perfect. → She had left before the guests arrived.

Order two past events with the past perfect.

3. Set a future deadline for completed work. → By Friday we will have finished the project.

Set a future deadline for completed work.

4. Stress how long an activity has continued. → They have been waiting for two hours.

Stress how long an activity has continued.

5. Announce a fixed arrangement in the diary. → I am meeting the director on Tuesday.

Announce a fixed arrangement in the diary.

6. Give a timetabled departure. → The coach leaves at half past six.

Give a timetabled departure.

7. Predict weather from visible evidence. → Look at the sky — it is going to pour.

Predict weather from visible evidence.

8. Describe an action in progress at a future moment. → This time tomorrow I will be flying home.

Describe an action in progress at a future moment.

9. Describe a first experience from a past viewpoint. → He had never seen snow before that winter.

Describe a first experience from a past viewpoint.

10. Ask about the duration of a friendship. → How long have you known the Hendersons?

Ask about the duration of a friendship.

11. Give the starting point of an unfinished period. → We have lived here since two thousand and nine.

Give the starting point of an unfinished period.

12. Predict completion before a future deadline. → The builders will have left by lunchtime.

Predict completion before a future deadline.

13. Describe an intention you never carried out. → I was going to call, but I forgot.

Describe an intention you never carried out.

14. Emphasise a long activity with a visible result. → She has been painting all afternoon.

Emphasise a long activity with a visible result.

15. Complain about earlier missing information. → Nobody had told us about the change.

Complain about earlier missing information.

16. Explain why a future moment is inconvenient. → Do not phone at seven — we will be eating.

Explain why a future moment is inconvenient.

17. State a length of service continuing to now. → I have worked here for eleven years.

State a length of service continuing to now.

18. Give a scheduled kick-off time. → The match starts at three on Saturday.

Give a scheduled kick-off time.

19. Look back from a future anniversary. → By then they will have been married fifty years.

Look back from a future anniversary.

20. Report a discovery about an earlier mistake. → He realised that he had forgotten his passport.

Report a discovery about an earlier mistake.