Gap Filling Exercises with Answers

The future perfect continuous (will have been + V-ing) describes an action that will have been in progress up to a specific future point. 'This July' is the future reference point; 'three years' is the duration. So: 'you will have been living in Japan for three years.' Option B is grammatically wrong. Option C (would have lived) is for hypothetical/conditional situations, not factual future. Option D uses 'would' which implies a condition that isn't present here.

'By the end of this quarter' is a future deadline. The action (working on the campaign) has been ongoing and will continue up to that deadline. This calls for the future perfect continuous: will have been working. Option A (will be working) doesn't emphasise the duration. Option C (will have working) is grammatically incorrect — 'have' needs 'been' before the -ing form. Option D uses 'would' which is for hypotheticals or polite forms, not factual future.

'For' expresses purpose — the events were dramatized FOR the purpose of cinematic expression. 'About' would mean the events are the subject of cinematic expression, which changes the meaning. 'On' is used for topics or surfaces, not purpose. 'In' would require a different noun form. The correct preposition for expressing purpose with a gerund or noun is 'for': 'for cinematic expressions.'

The structure 'keep me ___' needs a past participle to form an adjective. 'Keep me apprised' means 'keep me informed' — 'apprised' is the past participle of 'apprise' used as a complement after 'keep'. Compare: 'keep me updated', 'keep me posted'. 'Apprising' would need 'keep me apprising something', which changes the subject. 'Apprise' (base form) and 'to apprise' (infinitive) don't fit after 'keep me'.

'Ensure' means to make certain that something happens — 'ensure adequate financial backup' = make certain the backup exists. 'Insure' refers specifically to taking out insurance (a financial product). While insurance is the topic, 'insure financial backup' is not natural — you insure a car or life, not backup. 'Assure' means to give confidence to a person: 'I assure you.' These three words are among the most commonly confused in CBSE board papers.

'Since it started' signals that the action began at a specific past time and is still continuing. This requires present perfect continuous: have been + V-ing. 'Have been watching' = started watching in the past, still watching now. 'Has been' is third person singular (used for he/she/it), not for 'I'. 'Had' is simple past perfect and doesn't fit 'since' with present continuation. 'Was been' is not a valid tense form.

'Must be' expresses logical certainty or a strong deduction — when it is very hot, rain is certainly a blessing. 'Will be' expresses future certainty or intention, not logical deduction about an existing state. 'Should be' implies obligation or expectation. 'Ought to be' is similar to 'should be' and suggests moral duty rather than logical certainty. In the context of a natural observation, 'must be' (certainty) is the correct modal.

After the preposition 'for', a verb must be in the gerund form (V-ing). The structure is 'thank you for [doing something]': 'Thank you for exceeding... and inspiring.' Both 'exceeding' and 'inspiring' are gerunds following 'for'. This is called parallelism — both verbs after 'for' must be in the same form. 'Inspire' (base form) and 'to inspire' (infinitive) cannot follow a preposition. 'Inspired' is past tense/past participle, which doesn't fit here.

After modal verbs (will, would, can, could, shall, should, may, might, must), the main verb is always in the base form (infinitive without 'to'). 'Will __________ them' → 'will expect them.' 'Expecting' is a present participle and cannot directly follow 'will'. 'Expected' is past tense/past participle. 'Have expected' is a perfect form, which would make 'will have expected' — a different tense (future perfect) that doesn't fit the context.

'There are' is used when the real subject (ice cream vendors) is plural and the statement describes an ongoing, habitual present situation. 'Were' is past tense — but the sentence describes a current, recurring situation ('Even during afternoons' suggests a habitual present pattern). 'Have been' (present perfect) would describe something that started in the past and continues, but the statement is a factual present observation. 'Would be' is hypothetical/conditional, not factual.

'Each' is used with a singular noun to refer to individual members of a group separately: 'each member'. 'All' is used with a plural noun: 'all members were given.' Using 'All community member' (singular) is grammatically wrong. 'Every' is similar to 'each' but 'each' emphasises individuals more strongly and is preferred when the sentence stresses that members received different things. 'Some' is indefinite and doesn't convey the required meaning of every single member.

'All' is used before a plural noun to mean 'every one of': 'All candidates' (plural). 'Each' and 'Every' require a singular noun: 'Each candidate must carry.' With the plural noun 'candidates', only 'All' is correct. 'One' would mean a single candidate, which is the opposite of the intended meaning. This pair — Each/All — is a recurring CBSE test point because the choice depends entirely on whether the noun is singular or plural.

'Before we reached' establishes a time sequence: the friends collected the tickets first, then the group reached the counter. When one past action happens before another, the earlier action uses past perfect (had + V3): 'had collected.' 'Has collected' is present perfect (wrong tense for past events). 'Collect' is simple present. 'Will collect' is future. The clue words 'before' and 'reached' (simple past) confirm past perfect for the earlier action.

In recipe instructions, 'must' expresses a strong necessity — this step cannot be skipped. 'Must add the eggs one at a time' = it is essential to do this. 'Would' expresses willingness or hypothetical action. 'Might' and 'may' both express possibility or permission, not obligation. In instructional texts (recipes, manuals, rules), 'must' is the correct modal for non-negotiable steps.

The third conditional describes a hypothetical past situation and its imaginary result. Structure: If + had + V3 (past perfect) → would have + V3. 'If we had consulted...' (past perfect) → 'we would have avoided...' (would have + V3). 'Would avoid' is second conditional (present hypothetical). 'Will avoid' is future — cannot follow a past hypothetical condition. 'Had avoided' would create a double past perfect structure, which is not used in standard third conditional sentences.

'The number of' is always followed by a singular verb. The subject is 'the number' (singular), not 'road accidents'. So: 'The number... has increased.' Contrast this with 'A number of' which takes a plural verb: 'A number of accidents have occurred.' This is one of the highest-frequency CBSE traps because 'road accidents' (plural) appears right before the blank and tempts students to choose 'have'. Always identify the true subject: 'The number' → singular → 'has'.

'Earlier' is the time clue — we are talking about what was possible in the past. 'Could' is the past tense of 'can' and expresses past ability or possibility: 'money could buy more' = in the past, money had greater purchasing power. 'Will' is future. 'Can' is present ability. 'Shall' is future intention or formal will. The word 'earlier' directly signals that 'could' (past modal) is needed.

When two gerunds (drinking, smoking) are joined by 'and', they form a compound subject that takes a plural verb: 'Drinking and smoking are.' This is a present factual statement, so we use the present tense. 'Is' would be wrong because there are two separate activities — it's not one compound activity. 'Was' and 'were' are past tense, but health facts are expressed in the present. Note: if the gerunds refer to a single idea as a unit, a singular verb can be used (e.g., 'Picking and choosing is her habit'), but here they are clearly separate activities.

The structure 'was __________ (sit)' requires the past continuous form: was + sitting. Past continuous describes an action in progress at a specific past moment. The passenger was in the middle of sitting in the auto when the accident happened. 'Sat' is simple past and cannot directly follow 'was' in this context. 'To sit' (infinitive) doesn't fit after 'was'. 'Was sat' is passive voice and would mean someone placed them there — incorrect here.

'Several' means more than two but not a very large number — an indefinitely large group of people attended. The reason given ('open to all at a very nominal fee') explains why a large but indefinite number came. 'Both' refers to exactly two people — grammatically wrong with 'people' in an indefinite context. 'All' would mean every possible person attended, which is too absolute. 'Few' means a small number, contradicting the reason given (low entry fees attract more, not fewer, people).