Verb Tense and Agreement Flashcards

By the time the rescue team arrived, the hikers ________ in the cave for two days.

Answer: had been waiting

Past perfect continuous 'had been waiting' shows an action that was ongoing before a specific past event.

Neither the manager nor the employees ________ aware of the new policy.

Answer: were

When 'neither…nor' joins subjects, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; 'employees' is plural, so use 'were'.

She ________ the report before her boss asked for it.

Answer: had finished

'Had finished' (past perfect) shows the report was completed before another past action — the boss's request.

The committee ________ meeting every Monday to review progress.

Answer: is

Collective nouns like 'committee' take a singular verb when acting as a unit.

He ________ to the gym every day next week because of his new fitness plan.

Answer: is going

'Is going' (present continuous) is used to express a definite future arrangement or plan.

The data that ________ collected last year is no longer reliable.

Answer: was

'Data' as a subject of a relative clause here refers to the collected set as a unit, and 'that was collected' is standard formal usage.

I ________ this novel three times and I still enjoy it.

Answer: have read

Present perfect 'have read' links a past repeated action to the present feeling of enjoyment.