Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct tense. Provide brief explanations for each choice.

Here are the answers to the tense exercise:

1. The phrase "Don't leave now" indicates an immediate situation. "It is raining" describes an action happening at the moment of speaking.

   • C) is raining

2. This is a conditional sentence. The main clause "I will not go" is in the future tense, so the "unless" clause needs a present tense verb.

   • A) invite

3. In an indirect question, the subject comes before the verb.

   • B) I am

4. The phrase "What she did next" refers to a past action, and the blank describes the immediate consequence of that past action. "Shocked" is the simple past tense.

   • A) shocked

5. "By the time you reach her house" indicates a future point in time. The action of going to work will be completed before or at that future point, requiring the future perfect tense.

   • C) will have gone

6. The phrase "at that time" refers to a specific point in the past, indicating an ongoing action at that moment.

   • B) were you doing

7. "For several months" indicates a duration of time leading up to the present, requiring the present perfect tense.

   • B) has been

8. "Never" indicates a habitual action or a general truth. The simple present tense is used for habitual actions.

   • A) leaves

9. "Of writing a novel" indicates an ongoing activity or a current thought process. "Am thinking" describes an action happening now.

   • B) am thinking

10. The accident happened in the past ("when he met with the accident"), and the driving was an ongoing action at that specific past moment.

    • A) was driving

11. The phrase "before he was born" clearly places the father's death in the past relative to another past event (his birth). The past perfect tense is used for an action completed before another past action.

    • B) had died

12. "There is no light in their room" indicates a present situation. The reason for this situation is that they have already completed the action of going to bed.

    • B) had gone