TENSE
I. Fill the gaps with the correct tenses.
1. I (learn) ________ English for seven years now.
2. But last year I (not/work) ________ hard enough for English, that's why my marks
(not/ be) ________ really that good then.
3. As I (pass/ want) ________ my English exam successfully next year, I (study)
________ harder this term.
4. During my last summer holidays, my parents (send) ________ me on a language
course to London.
5. It (be) ________ great and I (think) ________ I (learn) ________ a lot.
6. Before I (go) ________ to London, I (not/enjoy) ________ learning English.
7. But while I (do) ________ the language course, I (meet) ________ lots of young
people from all over the world.
8. There I (notice) ________ how important it (be) ________ to speak foreign languages
nowadays.
9. Now I (have) ________ much more fun learning English than I (have) ________
before the course.
10. At the moment I (revise) ________ English grammar.
11. And I (begin/ already) ________ to read the texts in my English textbooks again.
12. I (think) ________ I (do) ________ one unit every week.
13. My exam (be) ________ on 15 May, so there (not/ be) ________ any time to be lost.
14. If I (pass) ________ my exams successfully, I (start) ________ an apprenticeship in
September.
15. And after my apprenticeship, maybe I (go) ________ back to London to work there
for a while.
II. Fill the gaps with the correct tenses.
1. They (build)________ a new power station at the moment.
2. When I was buying the stamps somebody (call)________ my name.
3. 'What time (Kevin come)________ ?' 'An hour ago.'
4. I (not go)________ to the cinema last night. I was too tired.
5. Carol invited us to the party but we (not go)________ . We had other things to do.
6. I saw Bridget at the museum when I was going to the restaurant but she (not see)
________ me.
7. 'Where (your parents live) ________ ?' 'In a village near London. They have always
lived there.'
8. She speaks English but she (not speak) ________ French.
9. Jeff is from London. He (live) ________ there all his life.
10. My favourite country is Canada. I (be) ________ there four times.
11. I (never eat) ________ bananas.
12. 'How long (you study) ________ Photography?' 'For one year.'
13. 'Where are you going on holiday?' 'I don't know. We (not decide) yet.'
14. Who (invent) the washing machine?
15. 'Where's Jill?' 'She (have) ________ lunch at the moment.'
16. (Terry work)________ ? No, he is on holiday.
17. Somebody (steal) ________ my sunglasses at the swimming pool last week.
18. (she wear) ________ the nice jacket when you saw her?
19. Where (be) ________ you yesterday?
20. As you (see/ can)________ , I (become) ________ a real London fan already.
III. Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect, the Past Simple or Past
Perfect.
1. They _____ (have) lots of important meetings and projects, so they _____ (often /go)
home after 7 p.m. last month.
2. Jack _____ (start) working at this company as a student and he _____ (work) here for
25 years.
3. Wendy _____ (quit) her job because she _____ (find) a better one.
4. The office manager _____ (introduce) a new work schedule after she _____ (say) she
wouldn't make any changes.
5. Ann _____ (know) her manager for years but she _____ (never/like) him.
IV. Complete each sentence using the correct form of the verb in brackets, using
past simple tense or past continuous tense.
1. Thomas Edison (invent) ______________ the phonograph, an impressive achievement
in 1877.
2. The enemy forces (attack) __________ the army base while the soldiers (sleep)
__________.
3. Walt Disney (create) _____________ Disneyland, a famous tourist attraction, in 1955.
4. While Isaac Newton (sit) _____________ under an apple tree, an apple (fall)
_________ on his head, leading to a series of thoughts about gravity.
5. Steve Jobs (come up with) ___________ the idea for the iPhone while he (go on)
_________ a business trip.
6. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (adopt) _____________ several children from different
countries in the world.
7. The soldiers (march) __________ through the jungle when they (encounter)
__________ the enemy.
8. My family members (watch) ___________ a film about a Vietnamese national hero at
10 a.m. yesterday.
IV. Complete each sentence using the correct form of the verb in brackets, using
past simple tense or past continuous tense.
1. Thomas Edison (invent) ______invented_________ the phonograph, an impressive
achievement in 1877.
2. The enemy forces (attack) _______attacked ____ the army base while the soldiers
(sleep) _____were sleeping______.
3. Walt Disney (create) _______created_______ Disneyland, a famous tourist attraction,
in 1955.
4. While Isaac Newton (sit) ______was sitting _________ under an apple tree, an apple
(fall) _______fell________ on his head, leading to a series of thoughts about gravity.
5. Steve Jobs (come up with) _____came up with _______ the idea for the iPhone while
he (go on) _____was going on______ a business trip.
6. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (adopt) _____adopted__________ several children from
different countries in the world.
7. The soldiers (march) ______were marching _______ through the jungle when they
(encounter) ______encountered________ the enemy.
8. My family members (watch) _____were watching__________ a film about a
Vietnamese national hero at 10 a.m. yesterday.
V. Circle the correct answer
1. The Smith (is having/ are having) a barbecue in the backyard right now.
2. The train (just leaves/ has just left) for 10 minutes.
3. The police (haven’t caught/ hasn’t caught) the burglars yet.
4. Jim (is still reading/ has still read) the book he borrowed from the local library last
week.
5. (Have you ever tried/ Are you ever trying) Indian cuisine before? No, this is my first
time.
6. At present, my father (is having/ has) a car and a motorbike.
7. You should arrive at the airport before &:30 because the plane (takes off/ are taking
off) at sharp 8.
8. Who (is/are) James talking to?
9. I (have read/read) five science books so far.
10. Coffee (has always been/ is always) my favorite drink since I was 20.
11. Why (are you always talking/ do you always talk) with your mouth full?
12. What (are you doing/ do you do) now? I am a linguist.
13. Look! It (is pouring/ pours) with rain.
14. Have you finished your homework yet? No, actually I (am working/ work) on it.
15. Mr. Brown (is sleeping/ has slept). I can hear his loud snoring.
VI. Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verb in brackets
1. Alex ____________ (prefer) tea to coffee.
2. By the end of the month we ____________ (finish) our school projects.
3. Cats ____________ (drink) milk.
4. Elliott and Stephanie ____________ (move) to Liverpool by Easter.
5. How long ____________ you ____________ (wait) before the taxi arrived?
6. I ____________ (not reply) to my teacher’s email yet.
7. I think my daughter ____________ (pass) all her exams because she is such a good
student.
8. My cat ____________ (catch) a mouse two days ago.
9. My grandfather ____________ (take) a nap at 5 o’clock yesterday.
10. The plane ____________ (fly) to Manchester every Tuesday
11. Watch out! You ____________ (fall) down.
12. We ____________ (meet) our new teacher at 11.30 am tomorrow.
13. When I ____________ (get) home, my mother ____________ (watch TV)
14. You ____________ (always lose) your keys
15. You are so busy! I ____________ (help) you with the washing-up.
16. My friend ___________ the day at home. (spend)
17. ___________ the students ___________ the tickets for the show yesterday? (buy)
18. Alice ___________ (not/ drink) milk in the morning, she ___________ (drink) it at
noon.
19. Where ___________ (you/ meet) your teacher last week? I ___________ (meet) her
in the shop.
20. Jack ___________ (not/ eat) meat yesterday, he ___________ (eat) fish.
21. What animals ___________ (you/ see) in the zoo last weekend? I ___________ (see)
a monkey, a giraffe and a kangaroo.
22. Kate ___________ (not/ take) a bath in the morning, she ___________ (take) a
shower.