It is high time that we <u>did</u> something.
- (a)had done
- (b)would do
- (c)have done
- (d)NO IMPROVEMENT
Correct — D, NO IMPROVEMENT. The expression 'it is high time' is always followed by a verb in the simple past form even though the meaning is about the present and the future, so 'It is high time that we did something' is already correct.
- (a)had done — The past perfect pushes the action back into an earlier past, whereas the expression is a complaint that something still has not been started now.
- (b)would do — 'Would' is not used after 'it is high time'; the pattern calls for a simple past form and nothing else.
- (c)have done — The present perfect describes something already completed, which contradicts the whole point of saying that the time to act has arrived.
A fixed expression that takes a past verb form to express a present or future idea.
'It is high time' belongs to a small family of expressions in which the past form has lost its past meaning and instead marks the situation as not real yet. Because the underlined word looks like an ordinary past tense sitting after a present-tense 'is', a candidate can easily assume there is a mismatch and change it. The safeguard is to recognise the expression itself — once it is recognised, the form after it is not negotiable.
- 'It is time', 'it is high time' and 'it is about time' are all followed by the simple past form.
- 'Would rather' and 'wish' behave the same way, as in 'I would rather you came tomorrow' and 'I wish I knew'.
- Treating the past form after 'it is high time' as a tense error and changing it.
- Slipping in 'would' or a perfect form where the pattern allows only the simple past.
Asked as a sentence-improvement item that looks like a tense mismatch but is really a test of whether the fixed expression is recognised.
He looks as if he _____ weary.
- (a) is
- (b) was
- (c) would be
- (d) were
Answer(d) were
Both items belong to the same family of unreal past forms. There 'as if' pulls 'were' after a present-tense main verb; here 'it is high time' pulls a simple past form after a present-tense 'is'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which option best improves the underlined part — It is about time you <u>have gone</u> to bed.
- (a)went
- (b)had gone
- (c)would go
- (d)No improvement
Answer(a) went — 'it is about time' is followed by the simple past form.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which option best improves the underlined part — I would rather you <u>will come</u> on Sunday.
- (a)came
- (b)have come
- (c)would come
- (d)No improvement
Answer(a) came — 'would rather' followed by a clause takes the simple past form.