CELSA Verb Tense and Form 2

Question 1

While Maria ______ dinner, the phone rang.

Accepted Answer

was cooking

Answer

Past continuous ('was cooking') describes an action in progress when another past action (the phone ringing) interrupted it.

Question 2

By the time the ambulance arrived, the patient ______ consciousness.

Accepted Answer

had lost

Answer

Past perfect ('had lost') shows the loss of consciousness happened before the ambulance arrived.

Question 3

When I was a child, I ______ walk to school every day.

Accepted Answer

used to

Answer

'Used to' expresses a past habit or routine that no longer occurs.

Question 4

The team ______ the project last Friday after months of hard work.

Accepted Answer

completed

Answer

Simple past ('completed') is correct because 'last Friday' is a specific finished time in the past.

Question 5

She ______ at the company for ten years before she retired.

Accepted Answer

had worked

Answer

Past perfect ('had worked') links the ten years of work to the prior moment before her retirement.

(CELSA) Combined English Language Skills Assessment Practice Test