Preparing for the IELTS or GRE is more than just studying grammar — it is about building confidence in how you express your ideas. These exams test not only your vocabulary and knowledge, but also your ability to communicate clearly, logically, and accurately. One of the most important tools in achieving a high score is mastering English tenses.

Strong control of tenses allows you to describe trends, discuss past research, present arguments, and make future predictions with clarity and precision. In high-stakes exams like IELTS and GRE, even small tense errors can affect your overall impression. On the other hand, accurate and consistent tense usage reflects strong language proficiency and academic readiness.

This worksheet is designed to challenge you at an advanced level and help you think carefully about time, logic, and sentence structure. With consistent practice, you can strengthen your writing, avoid common mistakes, and move one step closer to your target band or score.

Fill in the correct form of the verb in brackets.      

1. By the time we arrived, the meeting ______ (already / start).
2. She ______ (work) at the company for five years before she resigned.
3. If he ______ (study) harder, he would have passed the exam.
4. While they ______ (discuss) the proposal, the manager interrupted.
5. The report ______ (submit) before the deadline yesterday.
6. By next year, she ______ (complete) her PhD.
7. I didn’t realise that he ______ (leave) the office earlier.
8. Hardly ______ he ______ (finish) speaking when the audience began to clap.
9. If inflation ______ (continue) to rise, the economy may suffer.
10. The research team ______ (conduct) experiments since January.

Each sentence contains a tense error. Identify and correct it.

1. She has completed the project yesterday.
2. By the time we reached, the train leaves.
3. If he will try harder, he would succeed.
4. I was knowing the answer at that time.
5. The company is operating since 2010.
6. He didn’t went to the interview.
7. They have been discussing the issue last week.
8. She studies at this university for three years.
9. By next month, I complete the assignment.
10. When I will see him, I will inform you.

Choose the correct version.

A) By 2022, she completes her degree.
B) By 2022, she had completed her degree.
C) By 2022, she has completed her degree.

A) If he studied harder, he will pass.
B) If he studies harder, he will pass.
C) If he had studied harder, he will pass.

A) The data has been collected last month.
B) The data were collected last month.
C) The data is collected last month.

A) She is living here since 2015.
B) She has been living here since 2015.
C) She lived here since 2015.

A) Hardly he finished when they left.
B) Hardly had he finished when they left.
C) Hardly he had finished when they left.

Rewrite the sentence in a more appropriate academic tense.

1. The researcher says that climate change increased rapidly in the past decade.
2. Scientists discover a new method in 2019.
3. The company grows steadily since its establishment.
4. The experiment fails because the variables were not controlled.
5. The study shows that participants improved over time.

Complete the sentence correctly.

1. If the government ______ (implement) the policy earlier, the crisis could have been avoided.
2. Had she ______ (know) about the delay, she would have informed us.
3. If he ______ (not / interrupt), the presentation would have been smoother.
4. Should the market ______ (decline), investors may panic.
5. If the data ______ (be) accurate, the results would be reliable.

Section 1

1. had already started
2. had worked
3. had studied
4. were discussing
5. was submitted
6. will have completed
7. had left
8. had finished
9. continues
10. has been conducting

Section 2 (Corrections)

1. She completed the project yesterday.
2. By the time we reached, the train had left.
3. If he tried harder, he would succeed.
4. I knew the answer at that time.
5. The company has been operating since 2010.
6. He didn’t go to the interview.
7. They discussed the issue last week.
8. She has studied at this university for three years.
9. By next month, I will have completed the assignment.
10. When I see him, I will inform you.

Section 3

1. B
2. B
3. B
4. B
5. B

Section 4 (Suggested Corrections)

1. The researcher stated that climate change had increased rapidly in the past decade.
2. Scientists discovered a new method in 2019.
3. The company has grown steadily since its establishment.
4. The experiment failed because the variables were not controlled.
5. The study showed that participants improved over time.

Section 5

1. had implemented
2. known
3. had not interrupted
4. decline
5. were