Mixed tenses
COMPLETE THE STORY WITH THE SUITABLE VERB-FORMS.
I [watch]...... a long film on television last night: I [like]...... old films very much, and I [like/watch]...... ,...... them when my parents are not in. Last night it [be]...... very late when I [go]...... to bed. I [read]...... a book in bed because I usually [love/read]...... before falling asleep. I [fall]...... asleep at about 2 a.m. but I [wake]...... up suddenly at 3.30 a.m. because I [hear]...... a noise in the kitchen. I [walk]...... downstairs, [open]...... the kitchen door and I [see]...... the 'burglar':
our cat! I [shout]...... and he [run]...... away through the window.
PUT THE VERBS IN BRACKETS IN THE PRES. PERFECT, PAST SIMPLE,
PRES. PERFECT CONTINUOUS, OR PAST CONTINUOUS.
Dear Mary, How are you? I (hear) from you for a while. The most important thing to tell you is that Maggie (win) first prize in a ballet exam last week. She (have to) go to London for the whole day, and this morning we (get) a letter saying that she had won!
We're all delighted, because she (work) very hard for years.
Did you know that Joanna, our eldest daughter, (be) in the Far East for the past six months? She (be) in Melbourne for a while but then she (leave) Australia and (go) to Indonesia. She (travel) around the world for ten months now, I think I begin to miss her! The last bit of news is that I (break) my leg! I (decorate) Maggie's bedroom when I (hear) the doorbell; while I (run) downstairs, I (stumble) on my dog Pickles and (fall)!
I (have) my leg in plaster for a week, but that is not a problem, because I'm on holiday! I hope you are all well. Write soon. Love
Susan
Put the verbs in brackets in the present perfect, past simple, past perfect, present perfect continuous, or past continuous.
Dear Mary, How are you? I (not/hear) ...... from you for a while. The most important thing to tell you is that Maggie (win) ...... first prize in a ballet exam last week. She (have to) ...... go to London for the whole day, and this morning we (get) ...... a letter saying that she (win) ...... !
We're all delighted, because she (work) ...... very hard for years.
Did you know that Joanna, our eldest daughter, (be) ...... in the Far East for the past six months? She (go) ...... to Melbourne last August. She (be) ...... there for two months when her boss (offer) ...... her a better position in the firm's headquarters in New Zealand. Of course she (take) ...... that chance! My younger son David, (travel) ...... around the world for ten months now. I think I begin to miss them!
The last bit of news is that I (break) ...... my leg! I (decorate) ...... Maggie's bedroom when I (hear) ...... the doorbell; while I (run) ...... downstairs, I (stumble) ...... on my dog Pickles and (fall)...... !
I (have) ...... my leg in plaster for a week, but that is not a problem: I (do) ...... a lot of work on my home computer.
I hope you are all well. Write soon.
Love,
Susan
…...... /20
PUT THE VERBS IN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT FORM
a. Last year my wife and I (go) to France. We (enjoy) it!
b. Next week we (go) to York with the Smiths.
c. Take an umbrella with you! The sky is full of clouds: it (rain).
d. Sally (go) to the cinema last night? (INTERR.)
e. She (buy) an expensive dress yesterday; she (have) a big party tonight.
f. Bob (not watch) television last night because he (not feel) well. (NEG.)
g. We (go) to Elba for our holiday, but we (not fly) because Tom
(hate) planes.
h. Sarah is (go) to Australia next month: she (be) very excited.
PUT THE VERBS IN BRACKETS INTO THE CORRECT TENSE (SIMPLE PRES./PRESENT CONTINUOUS/BE GOING TO/SIMPLE PAST/PAST CONTINUOUS/ PRESENT PERFECT)
Susan Brown is a writer of detective stories. She (become) famous in 1986 when she (publish) her first book "The mystery of the Black Window". At that time she (live) in Manchester and she (be) not married. After the great success of the book she (go) to live in London where she (meet) her present husband, Alan Parker. In 1990 they (buy) a house in Chelsea and (get married). On November 23rd 1991 their daughter Caroline (be born).
Susan (like) travelling and she always (meet) a lot of interesting people; but she also (want) to stay with her family, and so Alan and Caroline often (follow) her. She (just/finish) a book about the murder of an international spy. She (recently/receive) a win for her last book, "The Man of the Night". We asked her why she wrote a story about a spy and she (reply):"While Alan and I (clean) our new house in Chelsea, we (notice) that the previous tenant(=affittuario) had left a black box in the cellar. There (be) some documents inside, and they were in a strange language. I (read) them when my husband (cry) out:"Susan, they are written in Russian!". So we (go) to Scotland Yard and they (tell) us that the previous tenant was a strange man who (disappear) under mysterious circumstances...They (think) he was a spy! So I (take) inspiration from that episode to write a spy-story." Now Susan (be) in Rome. She (never be) in Rome before; she (stay) there for a fortnight, then she (visit) Venice.
INSERT THE CORRECT TENSE
1.Next month we...... (go) to Rome. -Your friends...... (come) with you? -No, I think they...... (stay) at home.
2. Jan and Jill.....(buy) a new car last week; they.....(pay) it?
3. Where Lucy.....(be) now? -She.....(be) in the garden. What she....
(do)? -She...... (play) with her friends.
4. What you.....(do)? -I...... (be) an engineer. -Where you.....(work)?
I.....(work) in London. I.....(like) London very much.
5. In 1983 Sarah...... (be) 16, and she...... (play) in a rock group.
Now she...... (be) 26 and she...... (be) very famous.
6. Next Spring we...... (travel) around Austria; we.....(walk) in the
mountains. I...... (be) great fun!!
INSERT THE CORRECT TENSE. BE CAREFUL WITH THE POSITION OF ADVERBS!
Dear Ann,
,...... [you/be] free to come to dinner here on Saturday next at 8 o'
clock? My brother Paul...... [come] and...... [bring] a friend of his called Tom Edwards...... [you/not meet] Tom but I ,...... [think] you...... [like] him. He's an assistant manager
at the Old Vic" theatre and...... [be able] to tell you about the actors. Paul says that Tom...... [receive] hardly any salary and often...... [not get] enough to eat, so he...... [ask] me to have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for dinner, with apple crumble to follow. I...... [know] you usually...... [not eat] substantial meals, but I...... [hope] you...... [spend] a nice evening.
A few weeks ago Lucy...... [come] to dinner here and...... [talk] with Tom for hours. She...... [find] him very pleasant indeed!
She says she...... [never/meet] such a delightful person in her life.
Please come, if you...... [be able].
Love,
Susan
YOU WORK FOR A MAGAZINE AND YOU HAVE TO INTERVIEW WIN HOPKINS, A FAMOUS WRITER OF SPY STORIES ABOUT THE FIRST TIME SHE MET HER HUSBAND. HERE IS YOUR INTERVIEW, BUT YOU HAVE TO INSERT THE CORRECT TENSES!
" I remember I [be] about 19. I [go] to dance at a village hall. I [go] with my best friend, Marjorie. She [be] very pretty, she
[always/be] very pretty to tell the truth! All the boys [like] her at that time. They all [want] to dance with her. I [not/enjoy] dancing very much; I [be] always quite shy.
I [sit] at a table in the corner of the dance hall. No one [ask] me to dance. After about an hour, Marjorie [come] up to me and [say], " [go] and [ask] one of the boys to dance! You [can/not] just sit here!".
It [be] awful. I [hate] every minute of it! In the end she [ask] one of her friends to [go .... ask] me for a dance. I [be] so embarrassed! Anyway a boy [come] up and we [start] danc.....His name [be] Nick and he [be] very nice. Then we [eat] delicious cakes and [drink] champagne. I [confess] I almost [get] drunk! He [ask] me to go to the cinema the next day. That [be] the start of it. A year later he [ask] me to marry him. We [be] married >....ten years and we now [have] three children; we [be] very happy. We [live] in London ...... 1984, but I think we [move] to a smaller town; we [want/children/grow up] in the countryside.
I [still/see] Marjorie quite often. She [always/say], "You [must/not] sit and wait for things to happen. You [must] go out and make them [happen]." I [think] she [be] right.
NOW SAY IF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE TRUE OR FALSE.
1. Win liked dances but she was always very shy......
2. Marjorie did not care about her friend Win......
3. At the party Win asked Mick to dance with her......
4. Win did not know Mick before the dance......
5. Win and Mick [get] married a year after the party......
6. They live in a village near London......
7. Win and Marjorie still see each other......
WRITE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS (Pres. Simple, Pr. Continuous, Past Simple, Pres. Perfect, Be going to) MAKE CHANGES WHERE NECESSARY!
Ann is married with Tom Longbridge. They ...... [get] married in 1989. Tom ...... [find] a good job at Bronson & Caster, an important factory [=fabbrica] in Manchester: they ...... [produce] electrical engines [=motori]. They often ...... [sell] their engines to Italian firms[=ditte], and Tom usually ...... [go] to Italy once [=una volta] a month to ...... [show] how the engines work. The English factory ...... [recently/receive] a substantial order
from Italy and so Tom ...... [just/go] to Rome.
Now Ann is in the sitting room; she ...... [read] a letter from Tom. He says he ...... [work] very hard at the moment but he ,...... [like] his job.
Ann is a nurse; she ...... [graduate/REGULAR VERB] five years ago; after that she ...... [go] to Manchester, and there she ......
[meet] Tom; he ...... [become] her husband two years later. They
now have a daughter: she ...... [be] born in 1991. Her name ...... [be]
Laura. Tom, Ann and Laura are a happy family; next month they ......
[fly] to Spain. They ...... [visit] Granada, Sevilla and Madrid:
they ...... [like] it!
PUT THE VERBS IN BRACKETS INTO THE CORRECT TENSE
Dear Glenn,
Thanks very much for your last letter. It...... [be] great to hear that you...... [recently/find] a job in Stratford-upon-Avon. That...[be] the place where Shakespeare...... [be] born,...... [be/it]?
I...... [hope] you...... [find] "Hamlet" interesting when you...... [see] it last month. I...... [never/read] the play, but I...... [know]it is a good story.
I...... [live] in my parents' summer house on Long Island [since/for] the beginning of the summer. I...... [finish] my third year at New York University with good grades, and my father...... [be] very happy. I wouldn't be here on holiday if...... [not/study] hard during the winter. If I...... [get] good marks next year too, he...... [give] me a new car!
If I...... [graduate] in the summer I...... [come] over to Europe. I...... [manage=riuscire] to save quite a lot of money for the trip up to now. At the moment I...... [also/work] in a restaurant on Saturdays and on Sundays, and I...... [look for] a similar job during the winter! (intention)
I...... [see] Mark the other day; he...... [be] OK. He...... [ask]me about what you...... [do], so I...... [tell] him your news. He....,.....[fly] to California with his girlfriend last week. They...... [come] back in August.
Anyway, I must stop now. Some friends of mine...... [just/arrive] We...... [go] sailing in my boat. The weather is fantastic; it...... [be] fine [since/for] those storms two weeks ago.
Bye for now!
Best wishes,
Lori
P.S. As you...... [ask], I...... [enclose] a copy of your favourite newspaper. I...... [hope] you'll enjoy reading about your hometown!
FILL IN THE BLANKS USING THE CORRECT TENSE
(present simple, present continuous, simple past, present perfect, be going to)
Last weekend Tom and I ...... [go] to Edinburgh by train from London. Edinburgh ...... [be] in Scotland and it ...... [be] one of
the most beautiful cities in the world. We ...... [stay] at a hotel in Princes Street. It ...... [be] cold and windy when we .....
,....[arrive]; on Saturday morning we ...... [get] up early and ,...... [have] breakfast. [you/ever /eat]......
porridge? Well, try it: it ...... [be] delicious! Then we ......
[walk] down Princes Street and ...... [look] at the lovely shops. We ,...... [visit] the castle and we ...... [enjoy] sitting in the gardens. We ...... [not go] out in the evening because we ...... [be] too tired, but we .....[spend] the night at the hotel and we ......
[talk] to some people from America.
Now I ...... [be] at home; [I/just/come back] ......
I ...... [sit] on the sofa and I ...... [drink] a nice cup of
hot tea. [I/usually/have] ...... some tea when I am tired and cold. Tomorrow I ...... [wake up] early because I want to go shopping; I ...... [have] a big party for Tom's birthday, but he ...... [not know] it!