MIXED TENSES: REVISION EXERCISES

1. When we __________________ (arrive) at the cinema, the movie ___________________

(finish) and people ____________ (leave) at that very moment. We ____________________
(understand) at once that we _______________(miss) the film. My cousin _______________
(become) very frustrated. He___________ (say) he___________ (want) to see it for a long
time. He ________ (suggest) buying the tickets for the following day. When we ___________
(come) to the ticket office, we ____________ (realize) that none of us _____________ (have)
any money on us because we ______________ (leave) it at home.

2. Did you know that people _______________________ (ride) bicycles for a long time? Well,
by the time cycling _____________________ (become) an Olympic event in 1896, people
________________ (ride) bicycles for over a hundred years. In recent years, however, the
popularity of cycling as a sport _______________________ (increase). One of the reasons is
the changes that ________________ (take place) in the design of bicycles. In the 1970’s,
scientists developed stronger, lighter materials for building bicycles. As a result, people began
to ride their bikes over difficult tracks that they ___________________ (not use) before. Some
years ago, a French cyclist named Patrick Carn ____________________ (invent) a bicycle
known as the Caterpillar, which can be ridden on snow and sand. Since then, cyclists
_________________________ (use) the Caterpillar successfully in a number of major sporting
events.

3. Last year, my wife and I (buy) ____________________ our first house. We (live, already)
_____________________ together for five years before we bought our house. So we (know)
___________ how to live together. I will never forget the first house we (look) ____________
at. It (be) ________________ a small house in the suburbs with small windows. While we
(walk) ____________________ around the house, I (notice) __________________ how dark
and depressing it (be) ________________. I (always, live) ______________________ in a
house with a lot of light and big windows, so I instantly (hate) ______________ it. We (see)
__________________ a few more houses after that which were all nice. We (end) _________
up buying the second house that we (visit) ___________________. We (see) ____________ it
twice before we (buy) _______________ it, just to be sure. I (dream) ___________________
of this day for a long time. Now we have moved in. I’m really happy.

4. Last weekend, Cathy ________________ (hire) a car and _______________ (drive) to the
seaside. When she _________________ (arrive) the wind _______________ (blow) and the
sky _________________ (be) cloudy. She ________________ (get out) of the car and
_______________ (take) a walk along the seafront. Then she _______________ (decide) to
go for fish and chips at a nearby restaurant that she __________________ (see) earlier and
liked the look of. By the time she ________________ (leave) the restaurant, it ____________
__________________ (already/grow) dark. As she __________________ (walk) to her car it
________________ (begin) to rain. However, Cathy ____________________ (not/mind)
because she _________________ (have) a wonderful day.
5. Dear Ellen,
You probably _______________ (not imagine) where I ______________ (write) you from.
This the most wonderful experience of my life. Two months ago I ______________ (read) on
the paper that a wood company ______________ (want) to cut some very old trees in a forest
and I _______________ (decide) I _________________ (have) to do something about it. So I
_________________ (make) a tree house in one of the biggest trees. I ______________ (climb)
up to it and here I am. I _____________________ (climb) up here last September, so I
________________ (be) here for almost 4 months. All the media ______________ (show) a
lot of interest in me and I _______________ (answer) thousands of questions. Some journalists
________________ (even, take) pictures of me from a helicopter. I can say I ___________
(have) a wonderful time, although sometimes at night it _____________ (get) very cold. I think
I __________________ (stay) up here for another 2 or 3 months and during this time I
_____________ (write) a diary I ______________ (hope) some newspaper
_________________ (publish) when I _______________ (get down).

6. Sarah (like, always) ______________ travelling and now she (think)____________ that one
of her dreams (come)_______________ true. Last year she (finish)_______________ her
studies at secondary school, and now she (want) ______________to give herself some time to
think before she (go)______________ to university. While she (study) ______________ at
school she (meet) ________________ a boy from Costa Rica who (tell) _____________ her a
lot about his country. From that moment she (want) ________________ to visit this country.
Some days ago she (see) _________________ some information about volunteer work in Costa
Rica and (decide) _________________ to apply. She has been chosen, and she thinks she
(spend) _______________the next 8 months working on a school project and at the same time,
she (learn) ____________________ Spanish.

7. MEG: So, you are off on holiday tomorrow. How exciting! What time ________________
(you leave)?

SUE: We ______________________ (leave) the house at about 6 a.m.

MEG: 6 a.m.! Why so early? You don’t have to check in till 9.45. You __________________
(arrive) at the airport terribly early!

SUE: I know, but the airport is terribly busy at this time of the year, and we want to avoid the
rush. We _______________ (check in) as quickly as we can, then we ___________________
(have) breakfast at the cafeteria.

MEG: I’m sure that’s wise of you. Imagine! By this time tomorrow evening, you _________

______________ (lie) on the beach and I _________________ (do) the ironing or something!

SUE: I hope you’re right! I hope we ______________________ (not sit) around at the airport.
You never know these days.