The Present Tenses Compared
EXERCISES
Exercise 1. | Choose the correct answer. |
1. | ____ TV for the last four hours? Turn it off and get some exercise! | |
a) Do you watch | b) Are you watching | c) Have you been watching |
2. | The hole in the ozone layer ____ bigger and bigger. | |
a) has become | b) is becoming | c) become |
3. | Im tired because I ____ an English book for a long time. | |
a) read | b) have been reading | c) am reading |
4. | We ____ a lot of interesting people in the last few days. | |
a) have met | b) meet | c) are meeting |
5. | They usually ____ coffee after their evening meal. | |
a) have been drinking | b) are drinking | c) drink |
6. | Janet ____ traveled by air before. | |
a) travels | b) has never travelled | c) is travelling |
7. | Shut up! You ____ a lot of noise. | |
a) have never made | b) usually make | c) are always making |
8. | Sally ____ the bus. She is always on time. | |
a) has never missed | b) rarely misses | c) hasnt been missing |
9. | Jane is in the garden now. She ____ the flowers. | |
a) smells | b) has smelt | c) is smelling |
10. | He ____ my personal diary without asking me. | |
a) has been reading | b) read | c) is reading |
Exercise 2. | Correct the mistakes. |
1. | I am going to work by bus every day. |
2. | I havent visited my home town when I left school. |
3. | Jane studies this subject for five years. |
4. | Mary have just finished reading a very interesting book. |
5. | I am liking reading detective stories. |
6. | Go you to the office every day? |
7. | Peter plays in the garden at the moment. |
8. | More and more species become extinct. |
9. | I am learning how to play chess for three years now. |
10. | Does Helen havea rest in Crimea since summer? |
Exercise 3. | Complete the letter using the correct tense. |
Dear Martha,
I 1. ____ (write) to tell you my good news. I 2. ____ (save) enough money from my part-time job and, at last I 3. ____ (open) a flower shop. My father 4. ____ (own) a shop years ago and he 5. ____ (give) me some advice and suggestions. He 6. ____ (think) that my shop 7. ____ (be) a success, because there isnt another shop in the area. I 8. ____ (start) work next Monday. 9. ____ I ____ (probably / phone) you some time next week if I 10. ____ (have) time.
Wish me luck.
Best wishes,
Nicky
Exercise 4. | A. Work in pairs. Make a dialogue to talk about your friends interests and hobbies. You should mention: |
Where and when they do that hobby.
How long they have been doing it.
If you have ever done it with them.
B. Say if you think that is a good hobby or not, and why. |
The Past Tenses
, , - : thePast Simple (Indefinite) Tense (), the Past Continuous (Progressive) Tense , the Past Perfect Tense , the Past Perfect Continuous (Progressive) Tense -.
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The Past Simple(Indefinite)Tense
. The Past Simple (Indefinite) Tense -ed : to live I lived; to work I worked.
The Past Simple (Indefinite) Tense : to begin I began; to sell I sold; to lose I lost.
, to do (did) ( to), : Did I work? Did he work? Did I speak? Did he speak?
, to do (did), not , not : I did not work, he did not work. I did not speak, he did not speak.
the Past Simple (Indefinite) Tense.
1. , .
He came home, had his dinner and went to bed at once. | , . |
2. , . yesterday , last week , an hour ago , the other day , on Monday , in 1998 1998 , during the war . . .
I went to Germany two years ago. I took English courses when I was twelve. | . , 12 . |
3. .
Last winter I spent a lot of time in the library. | . |
used to, , . Used .
John used to ride bicycle when he lived in London. | ( ) , ( ). |
EXERCISES
Exercise 1. | Write the Past Simple of the verbs then read them out. |
answer | collect | dance | hate | live | refer | smile | travel |
arrive | collect | decorate | hurry | look | repair | start | try |
break | cook | destroy | iron | offer | rob | stay | visit |
carry | correct | dress | jump | play | seem | stop | walk |
change | cry | empty | land | pray | slip | study | watch |
clean | cry | fry | like | prefer | smash | suggest | water |
Exercise 2. | Write the Past Simple of the verbs. Check irregular Past Participles, and learn the ones that you dont know. |
become | buy | dream | fit | hold | lie | ride | sit |
begin | catch | drink | forget | keep | make | ring | speak |
bite | come | eat | get | know | mean | say | spend |
blow | cost | eat | give | learn | pay | sell | stand |
break | deal | fall | grow | leave | put | shut | strike |
bring | draw | find | hear | let | read | sing | think |
Exercise 3. | Give the correct form of the Past Simple of each verb and show whether you would pronounce these past forms as /d/,/t/ or /Id/. |
Model: | We waited (wait)an hour yesterday. /Id/ |
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1. | Barbara ____ (clean) her room at the weekend. / / |
2. | I ____ (play) badminton last night. / / |
3. | Bernard ____ (write) me a letter yesterday. / / |
4. | I ____ (smile) at her. / / |
5. | Caroline ____ (stop) when she saw me. / / |
6. | I ____ (dream) of you last night. / / |
7. | Who ____ (cook) the cakes? / / |
8. | He ____ (cry) a lot as a baby. / / |
9. | Sue ____ (watch) TV all evening. / / |
10. | We ____ (laugh) when we heard the joke. / / |
Exercise 4. | Put the Past Simple verbs into the story. |
1-6: | come | hear | open | say | not see | stand |
7-10: | give | hold | not read | take | ||
11-15: | run | say | not speak | turn | write |
He 1. ____ outside her door for a long time. Then he 2. ____ her footsteps inside the house. She 3. ____ the door and 4. ____ out. At first she 5. ____ him, but then she 6. ____ Oh, hello, Harold. He 7. ____ a paper out of his pocket and 8. ____ it to her. She 9. ____ it in one hand, but 10. ____ it. Listen, he 11. ____. She 12. ____ I 13. ____ you this letter because She 14. ____ back into the house. He 15. ____. and walked slowly down the street.
Exercise 5. | Make the Past Simple negative sentences. |
Model: | Tom played hockey, (football)he didnt play football. |
1. | Jude and Berth spoke French at the party, (Chinese) |
2. | My grandfather taught philosophy, (Spanish) |
3. | Kyle cooked the meat, (the fish) |
4. | I took my girlfriend to the mountains, (my sister) |
5. | I told my mother everything, (the police) |
6. | I phoned to my father, (my mother) |
7. | Matthew liked the party, (the music) |
8. | Simon knew her address, (phone number) |
Exercise 6. | You are asking somebody questions. Start with Did ? |
Model: | You enjoyed the food, but (the music) did you enjoy the music? |
1. | You listened to the story, but (remember it) __? |
2. | Dan didn't tell it to Andy, but (the others) __? |
3. | Thomas liked the book, but (the film) __? |
4. | He played hockey, but (well) __? |
5. | You gave them some help, but (any money) __? |
Exercise 7. | Ask the Past Simple questions with what, who, where, when, why. |
Model: | Peter saw somebody. Who did Peter see? |
1. | John went somewhere. |
2. | Bill bought something. |
3. | Alice married somebody. |
4. | Mary broke something. |
5. | Mike stayed somewhere. |
6. | I phoned somebody. |
7. | Dave and Kevin played in the yard yesterday. |
8. | Our team won the game last Sunday. |
9. | I went to Germany two years ago. |
10. | Tom didnt come to the English class yesterday. |
Exercise 8. | Some of these sentences are wrong. Correct the mistakes where necessary. |
1. | Did you hada nice weekend in Paris? |
2. | She was first in maths at school. |
3. | I keep a dog when I was five years old. |
4. | Garry finishes his work early yesterday. |
5. | We meeted last Sunday as usual. |
6. | We hurryed to the station. |
7. | You lied to me! |
8. | The child who was sitting at the knees of its mum started to cry. |
9. | A monster has attacked Dan while he was driving along a lonely road. |
10. | Why you did it? |
Exercise 9. | A. Cathy and Meg went on a day trip yesterday. Look at the notes below and say what they did, using the following linking words: first, then, next, after that, later, finally. |
Model: | First, they travelled to Brighton by tram. |
9: 15 10: 30: | travel to London by train |
10: 30 11: 30: | look around shops |
11: 30 12: 30: | walk in the park |
12: 30 2: 00: | eat lunch at a restaurant |
2: 00 4: 30: | visit museums |
4: 30 5: 30 | have afternoon tea |
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B. What did you do yesterday? Write some sentences. |
Exercise 10. | Work in pairs. Find out about each others summer holidays. Which of you has the more diversified summer? |
Model: | SA: Where did you spend your summer holidays? |
SB: In July I passed my exams and in August I went to Italy. What about you? |