tenses

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form!

Moving house
I come from a very large family and recently my parents ___________________________
(DECIDE) that they ___________________________ (SPEND) long enough living in an
overcrowded house in Birmingham. “We ___________________________ (MOVE) to the
country”, my father ___________________________ (ANNOUNCE) one evening. “I
___________________________ (SELL) this house and we ___________________________
(LIVE) on a farm”. So last week we ___________________________ (LOAD) all our
belongings into two hired vans, and for the last few days we
___________________________ (TRY) to organise ourselves in our new home. Yesterday,
for example, my two brothers and I ___________________________ (START) painting the
upstairs rooms. Unfortunately, while I ___________________________ (MIX) the paint, one
of my brothers ___________________________ (OPEN) the door. Nobody
___________________________ (TELL) him that we ___________________________ (BE) in
the room. So instead of painting the walls we ___________________________ (SPEND) al
morning cleaning paint off the floor. But worse things ___________________________
(HAPPEN) since then. This morning, when I _______________________ (WAKE) up, water
___________________________ (DRIP) through the ceiling next to my bed. We
_____________________ (SPENT) the last five hours repairing the roof. It is not all bad news
though. The school in the village nearby ___________________________ (CLOSE) down two
years ago, and my parents ___________________________ (NOT FIND) another school for
us yet.
tenses

Put the verb in brackets into the PRESENT SIMPLE or PRESENT CONTINUOUS tense!

Dear Mum,
I _______________________________ (JUST WRITE) to tell you how much I
_______________________________ (APPRECIATE) the money you have sent me, and to
tell you how I __________________________ (GET) on in my first term at university. In fact,
I _______________________________ (REALLY ENJOY) myself. I
____________________________ (STUDY) quite hard as well, but at the moment I
_______________________________ (SPEND) a lot of time making new friends. I
_______________________________ (STILL STAY) with my friend Jill and I
______________________________ (LOOK) for some place to live on my own. Only a small
number of first year students __________________________ (LIVE) in college here and I
___________________________ (SEEM) to be spending a lot of time travelling. I
_______________________________ (ATTEND) lectures every morning, and most
afternoons I _______________________ (STUDY) in the library. In fact, I
_______________________________ (WRITE) this letter right now instead of an essay on
Shakespeare. I think I’ll buy some new clothes with the money you’ve sent me. Everything
___________________________ (COST) a lot here, and I
_______________________________ (SAVE) to buy a coat for the winter months. It
___________________ (GET) really cold here in the evenings. I now
_______________________________ (KNOW) some other students and we
____________________________ (HAVE) quite a good time. I
_______________________________ (ALSO LEARN) to drive. University students
_________________ (GET) a refund if they take their tests here. I
_______________________________ (LOOK) forward to coming home next month. See you
soon.
tenses

Past Tense – Simple or Progressive: Fill in the correct form.

1. George ________________ off the ladder while he ________________ the ceiling. (fall,
paint)
2. Last night I ________________ in bed when I suddenly ________________ a scream.
(read, hear) 3. ________________ TV when I ________________ you? (you watch, phone)
4. Ann ________________ for me when I ________________ . (wait, arrive)
5. Maisie ________________ up the kitchen when John ________________ her to marry
him. (clean, ask)
6. The house ________________ £ 150,000 in 2003. (cost)
7. The fire _______________________ at six in the morning. (still burn)
8. My brother ________________ a new job a week ago (get).
9. Columbus ________________ America over 500 years ago (discover)
10. She ________________ not interested in the book because she ________________ it
(be ,not understand) 11. ________________ at school yesterday? (you be) 12. We
________________ in a house near the sea last summer (live) 13. She ________________
the piano very well when she ________________ young (can play, be) 14. She
________________ the office very early last night (leave). 15. I ________________ a friend
while I ________________ the shopping (meet, do) 16. I ________________ for my things
when I ________________ someone call my name (pay, hear) 17. I ________________
around and ________________ Judy. (turn, see) 18. She ________________ a bright yellow
dress when I ________________ her last (wear, see) 19. We ________________ to have a
cup of tea. (decide) 20. While the waiter ________________ up the pieces of glass he
________________ his finger (pick, cut) 21. Then we ________________ the cafe and
________________ good bye (leave, say) 22. I ________________ the fire at six and it
________________ brightly when Tom came in at seven. (light, still burn) 23. My dog
________________ along quietly when Mary’s Pekinese ________________ him. (walk,
attack) 24. When I ________________ she ________________ lunch. She said she always
________________ lunch at 12:30. (arrive, have, have) 25. What ________________ of his
last book? –I ________________ it a lot (you think, like) 26. He suddenly ________________
that he ________________ in the wrong direction. (realize, travel) 27. He
________________ guitar when someone ________________ the window and
________________ out a bucket of water. (play, open, throw) 28. He ________________ us
to go out in the boat yesterday because a strong wind ________________ (not allow, blow)
29. The next day, as they ________________ that the police ________________ for them,
they ________________ the coats in the woods and ________________ off in different
directions. (know, look, hide, go) 30. When I ________________ home they
________________ around a fire. Jack ________________ a crossword puzzle, Judy
________________ and the others ________________ . Mother ________________ at me
and said : “ Come and sit down” (come, sit, do, knit, read, smile)
tenses

Past Tense – Simple or Progressive: Fill in the correct form

1. I _________________ Sue in town yesterday, but she _________________ me. She
_________________ the other way. (see, not see, look) 2. I _________________ Tom and
Jane at the airport a few weeks ago. They _________________ to Berlin and I
_________________ to Madrid. We _______________a chat while we _________________
for our flights. (meet, go,go,have,wait) 3. I _________________ home yesterday when
suddenly a man _________________ out into the road in front of me. I _________________
quite fast but luckily I _________________ to stop in time and _________________ him.
(cycle, step, go, manage, not hit) 4. Jerry _________________ for me when I
_________________ . (wait, arrive) 5. “What _________________ at this time yesterday”? –
“I was asleep.” (you do) 6. “_________________ out last night?” – “No, I was too tired”. (you
go) 7. “Was Carol at the party last night?” – “Yes she _________________ a really nice
dress.” (wear) 8. How fast _________________ when the accident _________________ ?
(you drive, happen) 9. John _________________ a photo of me while I
____________________ . (take, not look) 10. We _________________ in a very difficult
position. We _________________ what to do. (be, not know) 11. I haven’t seen Alan for
ages. When I last _________________ him, he _________________ to find a job in Leeds
(see, try) 12. I _________________ along the street when suddenly I _________________
footsteps behind me. Somebody _________________ me. I was frightened and
_________________ to run. (walk, hear, follow, start) 13. When I _________________
young I _________________ to be a bus driver. (be, want) 14. While Mike
_________________ TV Sheila _________________ a book. (watch, read) 15. She
_________________ for the bus when I _________________ her yesterday. (wait, see) 16.
On Sunday I _________________ for a walk and then I _________________ the museum.
(go, visit) 17. He _________________ lunch when the first guests _________________ .
(prepare, arrive) 18. She _________________ when she suddenly _________________ a
strange noise. (sleep,hear) 19. We _________________ on the lake when a terrible
thunderstorm _________________ up. (sail, come) 20. Some minutes later his friend
_________________ to take him to the airport. (come) 21. While his friend
_________________ the car, John _________________ about his holidays. (drive, talk) 22.
John _________________ a shower when the telephone _________________ . (have, ring)
23. When they _________________ at the airport, the plane ______________________ high
above their heads. (arrive, already fly) 24. They _________________ to the restaurant and
_________________ a cup of coffee. (go, have) 25. While the football teams
_________________ up, the fans _________________ their flags. (warm, wave)
tenses

Past or Present Perfect Tense – Simple form

1. The weather _________________ (be) awful in the past few days. 2. We
_________________ (wash) the dishes. They’re clean now. 3.
_____________________________ (your course, start) yet? 4. Emma _________________
(pack) her suitcase last night. 5. They _________________ (close) the factory. – Really?
When ______________________ (that happen) ? 6. Shall we play tennis? We
_________________ (not play) since we were children. 7. The airplane _________________
(land) . The pilot is just getting out. 8. Prices _________________ (go) up. Everything is more
expensive this year. 9. I’m tired. We _________________ (walk) 10 miles. 10. The Queen
_________________ (arrive) in an RAF helicopter last night. 11. How long
______________________ (Vicky, have) that camera? – For about a month. 12. We
______________________ (just come) back from our holidays. 13. You parcel
_________________ (arrive). The postman _________________ (bring) it two hours ago. 14.
He _________________ (be) at his computer for two hours. 15. We _________________
(live) there for ten years but we _________________ (be) in Birmingham for the last two. 16.
We _________________ (not have) a party for ages. 17. My sister’s car is only a year old but
she ___________________________ (already crash) it. 18. Dinosaurs _________________
(roam) the earth millions of years ago. 19. It _____________________ (not rain) yet today.
20. __________________________ (you see) last week’s magazine? - It must be here
somewhere.