ALCPT Verb Tense and Agreement 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Every student in the three classes ________ required to submit a research paper.
- are
- were
- is (Correct answer)
- have been
Correct answer: is
'Every' always takes a singular verb, regardless of the noun phrase that follows.
Question 2: They ________ for three hours when the power suddenly went out.
- studied
- were studying (Correct answer)
- had studied
- have studied
Correct answer: were studying
Past continuous 'were studying' describes an action in progress when another sudden past event interrupted it.
Question 3: The price of fresh vegetables ________ risen sharply this season.
- have
- has (Correct answer)
- had
- are
Correct answer: has
The subject is 'price' (singular), not 'vegetables', so the verb must be singular 'has risen'.
Question 4: By next month, Sarah ________ at the company for exactly ten years.
- will work
- works
- will have worked (Correct answer)
- is working
Correct answer: will have worked
Future perfect 'will have worked' expresses an action that will be completed by a specific future time.
Question 5: He rarely ________ late to work, but he was late yesterday.
- comes (Correct answer)
- came
- is coming
- has come
Correct answer: comes
Simple present 'comes' is used with frequency adverbs like 'rarely' to describe habitual behavior.
Question 6: The news ________ alarming; the whole city is on alert.
- are
- were
- is (Correct answer)
- have been
Correct answer: is
'News' is an uncountable noun and always takes a singular verb.
Question 7: She ________ her homework when her friend called her.
- did
- was doing (Correct answer)
- has done
- does
Correct answer: was doing
Past continuous 'was doing' shows an activity in progress at the moment of an interrupting past event.
ALCPT Verb Tense and Agreement 5
Every student in the three classes ________ required to submit a research paper.