Tenses, Direct/Indirect Speech & Active/Passive Voice is one of 9 topics in the Grade 11 English First Additional Language CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Which tense correctly completes: "By the time she arrived, the library ___ already closed"?
had
has
have
was
Answer: had — The past perfect tense ("had closed") shows the closing happened before another past event (her arriving), correctly sequencing two past actions.
Easy
2. Which sentence correctly forms the negative of the present simple tense?
She does not study on Sundays.
She not studies on Sundays.
She studies not on Sundays.
She don't studies on Sundays.
Answer: She does not study on Sundays. — The negative of the present simple is formed by inserting "not" after the auxiliary "does", with the main verb returning to its base form.
Medium
3. Add the correct question tag: "The exam starts at nine, ___?"
Answer: doesn't it — A positive statement takes a negative question tag, matching the tense and subject: "starts" (present simple) pairs with "doesn't it".
