Pariksha SaathiTenses Questions with Solutions
The two traps that come up again and again: Present Perfect versus Simple Past, and "since" versus "for" — both come down to whether a specific past time is named. Here’s the approach, four fully worked examples, and a few to try yourself.
The approach, quickly
- Use the Present Perfect (have/has + past participle) when NO specific past time is named — the action happened at some unspecified point, and its result or relevance connects to now ("I have seen this movie").
- Use the Simple Past (verb + -ed, or irregular form) when a SPECIFIC past time IS named — "yesterday," "last week," "in 2020," "two hours ago" — the action is treated as a completed, dated event.
- "Since" is followed by a POINT in time — a date, a year, an event ("since 2015," "since Monday"). "For" is followed by a DURATION — a length of time ("for eight years," "for two hours").
- A sentence naming a specific past time word (yesterday, ago, last year) almost never takes "has/have" — that’s the single fastest way to catch a Present-Perfect-vs-Simple-Past error.
Worked examples
1. Choose the correct form: I ___ this movie already. (A) saw (B) have seen
Solution
- No specific past time is named — "already" signals an unspecified-time action connected to now, which needs the Present Perfect.
Answer: have seen
2. Choose the correct form: I ___ this movie yesterday. (A) saw (B) have seen
Solution
- "Yesterday" names a specific past time, so the Simple Past is correct, not the Present Perfect.
Answer: saw
3. Choose the correct form: She has been living in Delhi ___ 2015. (A) since (B) for
Solution
- "2015" is a point in time, so "since" is correct.
Answer: since
4. Choose the correct form: She has been living in Delhi ___ eight years. (A) since (B) for
Solution
- "Eight years" is a duration, so "for" is correct.
Answer: for
Try these yourself
Check for a specific past-time word, or whether a point in time or duration is given, then check against the answer.
1. Choose the correct form: He ___ his homework already; he can go out and play. (A) finished (B) has finished
Answer: has finished
2. Choose the correct form: He ___ his homework two hours ago. (A) finished (B) has finished
Answer: finished
3. Choose the correct form: They have been working on this project ___ three months. (A) since (B) for
Answer: for
Where this comes up
Tenses is tested directly in the English Language section of every exam Pariksha Saathi covers — SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC CHSL, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO and SBI Clerk — and underlies many Spotting Errors and Sentence Improvement questions too.
Practice more Tenses questions
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