Tenses

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Tense questions gave seven marks in the 2022 Constable paper. Every one of them is decided by a signal somewhere in the sentence — a time word, an adverb of frequency, or an if clause. Find the signal and the tense follows automatically.

Signal Words

SignalTenseForm
always, often, usually, every daySimple presentHe reads
now, at the moment, currentlyPresent continuousHe is reading
yesterday, ago, last week, back thenSimple pastHe read
tomorrow, soon, next weekSimple futureHe will read
since, for, already, just, yetPresent perfectHe has read
Adverbs of frequency mean habit, not action-in-progress. "Often", "always" and "usually" signal the simple present. A continuous form with "often" is almost always wrong, and that pairing is a favourite distractor.

Conditionals

First conditional (real, likely): If + simple present, … will + base verb.

Second conditional (hypothetical): If + simple past, … would + base verb.

Third conditional (past unreal): If + had + past participle, … would have + past participle.

Never put will inside the if clause.

Worked Examples from Real Papers

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q4

My mother ______ the newspaper in the morning.  (is reading / was reading / reads / will be reading)

"In the morning" describes a routine, not a moment happening now.
Habitual actions take the simple present, and the singular subject needs the -s form.
Answer: reads.
Note: "is reading" would only be right if the sentence pointed at this morning specifically.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q8

People often ______ games for sports and sports for games.  (mistaken / mistaking / mistake / mistook)

Often signals a habit → simple present.
"People" is plural, so the verb takes no -s.
Answer: mistake.
Note: "mistaken" and "mistaking" are participles — they cannot stand as the main verb without an auxiliary, so both can be eliminated on sight.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q11

If you study history, you ______ that all stories of success are also stories of great failures.  (see / think / will find / know)

The if clause uses the simple present ("study"), which makes this a first conditional.
The main clause therefore takes will + base verb.
Answer: will find.
Note: "see", "think" and "know" are all present-tense and break the pattern — only one option carries will, which makes conditionals quick marks once you recognise the structure.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q12

Back in my native place, we ______ good internet.  (does not have / was not have / did not have / had not have)

"Back in my native place" places the sentence in the past.
The negative past of have is formed with did not + base verb.
Answer: did not have.
Note: "was not have" and "had not have" are not possible constructions in English — two of the four options can be discarded on form alone.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q18

She ______ I cannot disturb her now.  (has been resting / had been resting / is resting / was resting)

The second half says "I cannot disturb her now" — the resting is happening at this moment.
An action in progress right now takes the present continuous.
Answer: is resting.
Method: when a sentence has two clauses, the tense of the one you are not filling usually fixes the tense of the one you are.

Eliminate on form before meaning. Options that are grammatically impossible — bare participles, or auxiliaries that cannot combine — often account for two of the four choices, leaving a simple decision between the remaining pair.

Also see: Subject-Verb Agreement · Articles & Prepositions · Synonyms & Antonyms

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