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Tenses Worksheet for Class 8 with Answers: All 12 Tenses, CBSE 2026-27 Practice

Are your Class 8 students making mistakes like “She goes to school” or “I saw him yesterday”? Tenses are the base of English grammar, and regular practice is the best way to fix these errors. This tenses worksheet for class 8 covers all 12 tenses with quick rules, formulas, and over 40 practice questions, and every question comes with an answer key.

It works for students revising at home, teachers who need classroom practice material, and parents helping a child before the 2026-27 exams.

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Tenses worksheet for Class 8 students to practice English grammar and verb tenses
☰ Table of Contents

    Why Tenses Matter in Class 8

    By Class 8, students are expected to move beyond basic sentences. They write letters, paragraphs, stories, and diary entries, and they answer grammar questions in unit tests and half-yearly and annual exams. In all of these, one wrong tense can change the meaning of a sentence or cost easy marks.

    In my experience teaching grammar to school and test-prep students, the biggest problem is rarely the rules. Most students can recite the rules. They lose marks because they have not practised enough mixed questions, where they must decide the tense on their own. That is why this article gives you rules first, then graded practice.

    Note: Always check your school’s latest syllabus and exam pattern, since question types can vary from school to school.

    Quick Revision: The 12 Tenses at a Glance

    English has three time periods (present, past, future). Each has four forms: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous. That gives 12 tenses.

    Tense

    Formula

    Example

    Simple Present

    Subject + V1 (s/es)

    She plays chess.

    Present Continuous

    Subject + am/is/are + V-ing

    She is playing chess.

    Present Perfect

    Subject + has/have + V3

    She has played chess.

    Present Perfect Continuous

    Subject + has/have + been + V-ing

    She has been playing chess for an hour.

    Simple Past

    Subject + V2

    She played chess.

    Past Continuous

    Subject + was/were + V-ing

    She was playing chess.

    Past Perfect

    Subject + had + V3

    She had played chess before dinner.

    Past Perfect Continuous

    Subject + had been + V-ing

    She had been playing chess for an hour.

    Simple Future

    Subject + will + V1

    She will play chess.

    Future Continuous

    Subject + will be + V-ing

    She will be playing chess.

    Future Perfect

    Subject + will have + V3

    She will have played chess by six.

    Future Perfect Continuous

    Subject + will have been + V-ing

    She will have been playing chess for an hour by then.

    V1 = base form, V2 = past form, V3 = past participle.

    When to Use Each Tense: Short Rules

    Simple Present: habits, daily routines, facts, and truths. The earth moves around the sun.

    Present Continuous: actions happening now or around now. Listen! The baby is crying.

    Present Perfect: a finished action that still matters now, or an experience with no fixed time. I have lost my book.

    Present Perfect Continuous: an action that began in the past and is still going on. He has been sleeping since 4 pm.

    Simple Past: a finished action at a fixed time in the past. We visited Agra last year.

    Past Continuous: an action in progress at a time in the past. I was reading when you called.

    Past Perfect: the earlier of two past actions. The bus had left before I reached.

    Past Perfect Continuous: an action that had been going on before another past action. She had been waiting for an hour when the bus came.

    Simple Future: promises, predictions, and decisions made at the moment. I will help you.

    Future Continuous: an action that will be in progress at a future time. At 8 pm tonight, I will be studying.

    Future Perfect: an action that will be completed before a future time. I will have finished by Friday.

    Future Perfect Continuous: how long an action will have been going on by a future time. By May, he will have been working here for two years.

    Common Tense Mistakes in Class 8

    Before you start the worksheet, look at these frequent errors:

    • Wrong: She goes to school daily. Right: She goes to school daily.
    • Wrong: I didn’t go there. Right: I didn’t go there. (After I didn’t, I used V1.)
    • Wrong: He has gone home. Right: He has gone home.
    • Wrong: I know the answer. Right: I know the answer. (Words like know, love, want, believe are not usually used in continuous tenses.)
    • Wrong: I will call you when I will reach. Right: I will call you when I reach. (After when, if, before, after, use the present tense for future meaning.)

    How to Use This Worksheet

    Here are a few simple steps that work well:

    1. Read the quick rules above once.
    2. Attempt each section without looking at the answers.
    3. Check your answers, then circle the questions you got wrong.
    4. Go back to the rule for that tense and try those questions again after a day.

    Teachers can use this grammar worksheet on tenses for class eight students as a class test, homework, or revision sheet. Since the sections are separate, you can assign one section at a time. If you want a class 8 tenses exercises worksheet PDF, you can copy the sections into a document and print them, or ask your school to print them for the whole class.

    Tenses Worksheet for Class 8: Practice Questions

    Worksheet A: Fill in the Blanks (12 questions)

    Write the correct form of the verb in brackets.

    1. My father ______ (read) the newspaper every morning.
    2. The students ______ (prepare) for the annual day right now.
    3. I ______ (lose) my pen. Can you help me find it?
    4. It ______ (rain) since last night.
    5. Rohan ______ (score) a century in the match yesterday.
    6. We ______ (have) lunch when the guests arrived.
    7. The teacher ______ (left) the class before the bell rang.
    8. The workers ______ (build) the bridge for two years before it opened.
    9. I think India ______ (win) the next match.
    10. At 9 pm tonight, I ______ (watch) my favourite show.
    11. By the time you come, I ______ (finish) my homework.
    12. By next March, my sister ______ (study) in this school for six years.

    Worksheet B: Choose the Correct Option (10 questions)

    1. She ______ to school by bus daily.
       (a) go (b) goes (c) going (d) gone
    2. Listen! Someone ______ at the door.
       (a) knocks (b) knocked (c) is knocking (d) has knocked
    3. They ______ in Lucknow since 2015.
       (a) live (b) lived (c) are living (d) have lived
    4. I ______ my keys yesterday.
       (a) lose (b) lost (c) have lost (d) had lost
    5. When I called, she ______ a book.
       (a) reads (b) read (c) was reading (d) has read
    6. He said he ______ the film before.
       (a) saw (b) has seen (c) had seen (d) sees
    7. ______ me tomorrow?
       (a) Will you help (b) Did you help (c) Have you helped (d) Are you help
    8. By 2030, she ______ a doctor.
       (a) becomes (b) will become (c) will have become (d) became
    9. The baby ______ for two hours now.
       (a) sleeps (b) is sleeping (c) has been sleeping (d) slept
    10. Water ______ at 100°C.
       (a) boils (b) is boiling (c) boiled (d) will boil

    Worksheet C: Spot and Correct the Error (8 questions)

    1. He goes to the market every Sunday.
    2. I know the answer.
    3. She has gone to Delhi.
    4. We didn’t see the match.
    5. I will call you when I reach home.
    6. They have been playing since morning.
    7. Did she finish her work?
    8. The sun is rising in the east.

    Worksheet D: Rewrite in the Given Tense (6 questions)

    1. She writes a letter. (Past Continuous)
    2. They play football. (Present Perfect)
    3. I eat an apple. (Future Continuous)
    4. He reads a book. (Present Perfect Continuous)
    5. We cleaned the room. (Past Perfect)
    6. Ravi plays the guitar. (Future Perfect Continuous, add “for an hour by then”)

    Worksheet E: Complete the Passage (7 questions)

    Last Sunday, our family (1) ______ (visit) the zoo. We (2) ______ (reach) there at 9 am. While we (3) ______ (walk) near the lake, we (4) ______ (see) a peacock. My brother (5) ______ (never seen) one before, so he (6) ______ (be) very excited. We (7) ______ (visit) the museum next month.

    Answer Key

    Worksheet A

    1. reads (Simple Present)
    2. are preparing (Present Continuous)
    3. have lost (Present Perfect)
    4. has been raining (Present Perfect Continuous)
    5. scored (Simple Past)
    6. were having (Past Continuous)
    7. had left (Past Perfect)
    8. had been building (Past Perfect Continuous)
    9. will win (Simple Future)
    10. will be watching (Future Continuous)
    11. will have finished (Future Perfect)
    12. will have been studying (Future Perfect Continuous)

    Worksheet B

    1. (b) goes
    2. (c) is knocking
    3. (d) have lived
    4. (b) lost
    5. (c) was reading
    6. (c) had seen
    7. (a) Will you help
    8. (c) will have become
    9. (c) has been sleeping
    10. (a) boils

    Worksheet C

    1. He goes to the market every Sunday.
    2. I know the answer.
    3. She has gone to Delhi.
    4. We didn’t see the match.
    5. I will call you when I reach home.
    6. They have been playing since morning.
    7. Did she finish her work?
    8. The sun rises in the east.

    Worksheet D

    1. She was writing a letter.
    2. They have played football.
    3. I will be eating an apple.
    4. He has been reading a book.
    5. We had cleaned the room.
    6. Ravi will have been playing the guitar for an hour by then.

    Worksheet E

    1. visited
    2. reached
    3. were walking
    4. saw
    5. had never seen
    6. was
    7. will visit

    How to Score Yourself

    • 38 to 43 correct: Excellent. Your tenses are strong.
    • 28 to 37 correct: Good. Revise the tenses where you made mistakes.
    • 18 to 27 correct: Fair. Re-read the rules and attempt the worksheet again after two days.
    • Below 18: Do not worry. Start with the simple tenses, then move to continuous and perfect forms, one at a time.

    Tips to Master Tenses Faster

    • Learn the formula, then make your own sentences. Copying examples is not enough.
    • Practise one verb in all 12 tenses. Try “write” or “go” and fill a small table.
    • Look for time clues. Words like yesterday, since, for, by the time, tomorrow point to the right tense.
    • Revise mistakes weekly. Keep a small notebook of your own errors.
    • Read short passages aloud. Notice which tense the writer uses and why.
    • Practise little and often. Ten minutes a day works better than two hours once a week.

    Tips for Teachers and Parents

    If you are helping a child, begin with the three simple tenses and the present and past continuous. Add the perfect tenses only when the child is comfortable. Many 8th grade students find the perfect continuous tenses hard, so use real-life examples, like “I have been waiting for twenty minutes”, instead of long rules.

    A good 8th grade tenses practice worksheet for school should mix question types, as this one does, because exams rarely test tenses in just one format. Using worksheets on verb tenses for 8th class with answers also lets students check themselves, which builds confidence and saves teacher time.

    Conclusion

    A good tenses worksheet for class 8 helps students turn rules into habits. Use the chart for quick revision, attempt each section without help, and check your answers honestly. Repeat the questions you got wrong after a few days. With steady practice, tenses will become one of the easiest parts of the English paper.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    There are 12 tenses: four each in the present, past, and future.

    Class 8 English grammar generally revises all 12 tenses. Since syllabus details can differ, check your textbook and your school’s latest exam guidelines.

    You can copy this page into a document and print it. A tenses worksheet for grade 8 printable works best when each section is on a separate page, so students can attempt one section at a time.

    Remember the pattern. Continuous tenses use be + V-ing, perfect tenses use have + V3, and perfect continuous tenses use have + been + V-ing.

    Ten to fifteen minutes a day, along with one full worksheet each week, is enough for most students before exams.

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