Finish vs. finished

[benny]

Test No. incompl/elem-5 "Finish/End", question 8

You could tell the time by him because he always ......... work at exactly the same time every day.

(a) ends
(b) ended
(c) finish
(d) finished

Test No. incompl/elem-5 "Finish/End", answer 8

You could tell the time by him because he always finished work at exactly the same time every day.

Correct answer: (d) finished

Your answer was: incorrect
You could tell the time by him because he always finish work at exactly the same time every day.
_________________________

but in any other situdtions, how can i differentiate the present tense and the past tense of a verb? Just like "I always do sth" / "I always finished sth"?

Whether the "finished" means "accomplish"?

benny

[Torsten]

You can tell the time by him because he always finishes work at exactly the same time every day. (present simple)

You could tell the time by him because he always finished work at exactly the same time every day. (simple past)

to finish work = to stop working
to finish university = to graduate from university
to finish the project = to complete the project

TOEFL listening lectures: A university lecture by a professor of Paleontology