ECAT — Engineering College Admission Test (UET)

ECAT English — Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement (Set 5)

Take the ECAT English — Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement (Set 5): 30 multiple-choice questions (40 minutes) with instant scoring and a full answer…

What this test covers

30 ECAT English

Sample questions with answers

The first 5 questions of this test, with the correct answer and explanation.

Q1. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: By the time the rescue team reached the village, the flood ___ most of the houses.
- A. had destroyed ✓
- B. will destroy
- C. has destroyed
- D. is destroying
Answer: A. had destroyed
Explanation: 'By the time ... reached' marks a past moment; the destruction happened before it, so the past perfect 'had destroyed' is needed.
Q2. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Collecting old coins ___ his favourite hobby since childhood.
- A. has been ✓
- B. were
- C. are
- D. have been
Answer: A. has been
Explanation: A gerund phrase used as a subject is singular; 'since childhood' calls for the present perfect, so 'has been'.
Q3. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Not until the results were announced ___ how poorly he had done.
- A. he realised
- B. did he realise ✓
- C. realised he
- D. he did realise
Answer: B. did he realise
Explanation: After 'Not until' at the start of a sentence, the main clause is inverted with an auxiliary: 'did he realise'.
Q4. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: The news about the earthquakes ___ spreading rapidly through the region.
- A. is ✓
- B. are
- C. have been
- D. were
Answer: A. is
Explanation: 'News' is uncountable and takes a singular verb; of the options only 'is' is singular and present.
Q5. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: The sum of these three numbers ___ ninety.
- A. is ✓
- B. are
- C. were
- D. have been
Answer: A. is
Explanation: The subject is the singular noun 'sum'; 'of these three numbers' is only a modifier.

The other 25 questions

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Q6. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: By next June, my uncle ___ in Dubai for exactly twenty years.
- A. will live
- B. will have been living
- C. is living
- D. has lived
Q7. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: If you heat ice, it ___ into water.
- A. would turn
- B. will turn
- C. turns
- D. turned
Q8. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: If the bridge ___ built earlier, travel time would have been halved.
- A. were
- B. would have been
- C. had been
- D. has been
Q9. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: I ___ to Lahore tomorrow; I have already booked the ticket.
- A. am travelling
- B. have travelled
- C. was travelling
- D. had travelled
Q10. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: This is the most interesting novel I ___ read.
- A. ever have
- B. will ever
- C. am ever
- D. have ever
Q11. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Where ___ you at nine o'clock last night? I called but nobody answered.
- A. are
- B. was
- C. were
- D. have been
Q12. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: More than ten students ___ absent from today's class.
- A. were
- B. is
- C. was
- D. has been
Q13. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: I was about to leave when I ___ that my wallet was missing.
- A. would notice
- B. had noticed
- C. noticed
- D. have noticed
Q14. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: The old bridge ___ closed since last month because of cracks.
- A. had been
- B. is
- C. was
- D. has been
Q15. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Please be quiet; the baby ___.
- A. sleeps
- B. slept
- C. has slept
- D. is sleeping
Q16. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Much of the equipment in the laboratory ___ outdated.
- A. were
- B. have been
- C. is
- D. are
Q17. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: At this time next week, we ___ on the beach in Karachi.
- A. have been relaxing
- B. will be relaxing
- C. had relaxed
- D. are relaxed
Q18. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: I ___ him since we were students together in college.
- A. am knowing
- B. knew
- C. have known
- D. know
Q19. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: A series of lectures on climate change ___ planned for next month.
- A. have been
- B. is
- C. are
- D. were
Q20. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Every one of the twenty-five players ___ trained hard for the final.
- A. are
- B. have
- C. has
- D. were
Q21. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: I wish I ___ how to swim when I was young.
- A. will learn
- B. would learn
- C. have learnt
- D. had learnt
Q22. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: After the guests ___, we began to clear the table.
- A. leave
- B. have left
- C. were leaving
- D. had left
Q23. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: The new library ___ opened by the Governor next week.
- A. will have
- B. is
- C. has been
- D. will be
Q24. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Nobody except the twins ___ the answer.
- A. know
- B. knows
- C. are knowing
- D. have known
Q25. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: I, who ___ your friend, will always help you.
- A. be
- B. am
- C. are
- D. is
Q26. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: He ___ have missed the bus; otherwise he would have arrived by now.
- A. will
- B. must
- C. can
- D. shall
Q27. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: The students ___ their exams when the fire alarm rang.
- A. sat
- B. have sat
- C. were sitting
- D. had sat
Q28. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Several new schools ___ built in the area in recent years.
- A. have been
- B. were being
- C. has been
- D. had been
Q29. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Not only ___ the exam, but he also won the scholarship.
- A. he did pass
- B. did he pass
- C. he passed
- D. passed he
Q30. Choose the correct option to fill in the blank: Rarely ___ such a talented student in my career.
- A. I have seen
- B. have I seen
- C. did I saw
- D. I saw