Fill in the Blanks
🔒 Log in to trackVerb-form and tense blanks
🔒 Log in to trackWhen the blank is a verb, two checks decide: the anchor (time information in the sentence) and the form demanded by the governing word.
Anchors → tenses:
- By the time X arrived, ... → the earlier event is past perfect: had burnt.
- since 2015 / for ten years (continuing) → present perfect (continuous).
- yesterday / last week → simple past.
- by next March → future perfect: will have completed.
Governing words → forms (the highest-yield list):
- look forward to + -ing (to = preposition): I look forward to hearing from you.
- used to + base (past habit) vs be used to + -ing (accustomed): He used to swim; He is used to swimming.
- had better / would rather + base: You had better leave.
- avoid / enjoy / mind / finish / suggest + -ing.
- decide / plan / hope / refuse + to + base.
- preposition + -ing: insisted on paying, afraid of losing.
The preposition-to test settles most -ing vs to-blank confusion: if the word before 'to' is a noun, pronoun or preposition-like verb (look forward, be accustomed, object), the 'to' is prepositional → -ing follows. If 'to' belongs to an infinitive (decide, refuse, hope), the base verb follows.
Passive shapes also appear: after by the time, a completed earlier event can be had been + participle when the subject receives the action (had been evacuated).
Detailed notes
Read the anchors first
A verb-form blank is solved by the time anchors around it: since 2019, for a decade, by the time, already, yet, yesterday, before, after, when, if, until. Circle the anchors, then let them pick the form. The wrong options are always well-formed verbs from the wrong row.
The anchor map
- since + point / for + length → perfect territory: has worked, has been working (ongoing emphasis).
- Two past events, one earlier → the earlier one takes had + V3: The train had left before we reached. The before/after/when clause carries the LATER event in simple past.
- by + future time → will have + V3; by + past time → had + V3.
- Hardly/Scarcely had ... when ... / No sooner had ... than ... → the frame is past perfect + simple past, and the correlative pairs are fixed: no sooner→than, hardly/scarcely→when.
- If (type 1) → simple present in the if-clause, will + V1 in the main clause. Had I known ... (inverted type 3) → would have + V3. Will never enters the if-clause.
Non-finite blanks
When the neighbouring word is a fixed verb or preposition, the form is fixed too:
- enjoy, avoid, deny, suggest, mind, finish + V-ing.
- want, decide, agree, refuse, hope + to + V1.
- Every preposition + V-ing (interested in learning).
- Negative infinitive = not to + V1; negative gerund = not + V-ing. He denied taking the file — deny takes the gerund; 'denied to take' is the planted decoy.
Agreement traps dressed as blanks
Each of / every one of / either of / neither of + plural noun → singular verb: Each of the candidates has.... A number of + plural → plural; the number of + plural → singular. Collective nouns take singular when the unit acts (The jury has reached its verdict). The blank may simply be is/has/does — agreement, not tense, decides.
The elimination sweep
- Kill forms that break the anchor (a present form beside yesterday).
- Kill forms that break a fixed frame (will inside an if-clause; to after deny).
- Kill agreement breaks (have after each of).
- Among survivors, prefer the row that matches the sentence's aspect — ongoing (has been working) vs completed (has worked).
Quick revision
- since/for → perfect; earlier past event → had + V3; later past event in the clause → simple past.
- no sooner ... than; hardly/scarcely ... when — past perfect + simple past.
- Type 1: present in the if-clause; Had I known → would have + V3.
- deny/enjoy/avoid + V-ing; want/decide/refuse + to + V1; preposition + V-ing.
- each of / neither of → singular verb; a number of → plural, the number of → singular.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: since / for with perfect formsvery common2 practice Q
The sentence carries since 2019, for a decade, all morning; the options mix simple present, present perfect and past perfect.
- Spot the anchor: since/for ties the action to the present.
- Ongoing action → has/have been + V-ing; completed count → has/have + V3.
- A pure past frame (before moving to..., yesterday) moves the row back to had + V3.
Why it works: since/for are the signature of the perfect rows; the options differ only by row, so the anchor settles it.
Example: He ___ in this office since 2019.
has been working — since 2019 keeps the action alive in the present, so the present perfect continuous row fits; 'worked' would detach it.
Type 2: Past-perfect frame + simple past clausevery common2 practice Q
The sentence has Hardly had ... when ..., or two past events with before/when; the blank is the second verb.
- The had + V3 event is the earlier one; the blank event is the later one.
- The later event takes the SIMPLE PAST in the when/before clause: went, started.
- Reject had + V3 for the later event and present forms for both.
Why it works: the past perfect exists to mark the earlier of two past events; using it twice erases the very contrast it exists to draw.
Example: The guests had hardly settled when the lights ___ out.
went — the hardly-frame is past perfect + simple past: had settled ... went. 'Had gone' would claim both events at the same earlier level.
Type 3: Conditional framescommon2 practice Q
The sentence opens with If or the inverted Had I...; options offer will inside the if-clause, or mix would/would have.
- Type 1 (real): If + simple present, main clause will + V1 — will never enters the if-clause.
- Type 3 (unreal past): Had + subject + V3 ... would have + V3.
- Match the two halves — mixing a type-3 if with a type-1 result is the planted fault.
Why it works: each conditional type is a fixed two-row pattern; the options are rows from the wrong type.
Example: Had I known about the schedule change, I ___ accordingly.
would have planned — the inverted Had I known opens the unreal past; the result is would have + V3, never 'will plan' or plain 'would plan'.
Type 4: Gerund vs infinitive after fixed verbsvery common2 practice Q
The blank follows deny/enjoy/avoid/suggest (gerund) or want/decide/refuse/warn (infinitive); the options are to + V1, V-ing, and broken hybrids.
- Read the word BEFORE the blank.
- Gerund group: enjoy, avoid, deny, suggest, mind, finish, every preposition → V-ing.
- Infinitive group: want, decide, agree, refuse, hope, warn (warn + object + not to V1) → to + V1.
Why it works: the first verb's fixed group decides the form; no meaning test is needed once the group is known.
Example: He denied ___ the confidential file.
taking — deny takes the gerund; 'denied to take' is the planted decoy.
Type 5: Agreement blanks (each of, the number of)common2 practice Q
The subject phrase is each of / either of / the number of + a plural noun, and the options are has/have, is/are type pairs.
- Find the true head of the subject: each, either, the number — all singular.
- Choose the singular verb (has, is, was) whatever plural noun follows.
- Contrast: a number of + plural noun → plural verb.
Why it works: the plural noun is camouflage; agreement follows the head word, and the options exist to punish head-hunting laziness.
Example: Each of the shortlisted candidates ___ to bring the originals.
has — each is the head, singular; 'have' agrees with the nearest noun, the classic trap.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Preposition-to test
Check what owns the 'to'. Owned by a preposition-verb or noun → -ing; owned by an infinitive verb → base form. This one test answers the largest tense-form family.
Example: I look forward to ___ from you soon. → hearing
'Forward to' is prepositional ('look forward to it'), so the -ing form follows: hearing.
⚡ By-the-time ladder
Two events with 'by the time' → earlier verb in past perfect, later in simple past. Fit the blank to its rung of the ladder.
⚡ Verb-category lists
Memorise the three mini-lists: -ing verbs (avoid, enjoy, mind, suggest, finish), to-verbs (decide, hope, refuse, plan), base-after (had better, would rather, let, make).
Where students lose marks
Choosing 'to hear' after 'look forward to' because 'to' feels infinitive.
Using present perfect with a finished-time anchor.
Writing 'used to + -ing' for past habits (that shape means 'accustomed').
Ignoring the passive when the sentence's subject receives the action.
Practice sets — 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.