Revision exercises

1. In these texts, use one of the following tenses for the verb in brackets: present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous. Where alternatives are possible, think about any difference in meaning or emphasis.

A

A: John (1) ___________ (not looking) well these days. Is he okay?

B: Apparently, he (2) _____________ (not sleep) well just now, although he usually (3) __________________ (sleep) really soundly.

A: Sounds like something (4) _______________ (worry) him.

B: Well, that's part of the problem. You (5) _______________ (know) that he (6) ________________ (work) for Tardown, the engineers, don't you?

A: Yes, ever since he (7) ____________ (leave) university.

B: That’s right. Well, at the moment he (8) _____________ (work) on a major roar-building scheme in Liverpool, so he (9) _______________ (drive) up there every day, which (10) ___________ (take) a couple of hours each way. And on top of that, he (11) ________________ (suffer) from a cold and (12) ______________ (have) difficulty breathing.

B

Concern (1) ______________ (mount) for the safety of two British climbers who (2) ______________ (miss) in the Andes. Their three companions, all French, (3) ______________ (raise) the alarm when the climbers (4) ______________ (fail) to arrive back at their base camp two days ago. It (5) _____________ (now become) clear that a number of avalanches (6) ___________ (hit) that area last week, and local experts (7) _____________ (blame) these on the very warm weather conditions for the time of year.

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Alex (1) ___________ (work) in the accounts department when I (2) ___________ (become) advertising manager at the firm. At first I (3) _____________ (find) him to be very efficient, but after a while his work (4) ____________ (start) to deteriorate. He (5) ___________ (forever lose) important documents and (6) ____________ (make) excuses when there were delays. The final straw was when he (7) _______________(spend) three weeks on a piece of work that should have taken only a day or so. By the time he (8) ___________ (finish), I (9) _____________ (feel) pretty annoyed and (10) ___________ (complain) to the managing director.

D

I (1) ______________ (buy) a new alarm clock the other day in Taylor’s the jewelers, when I actually (2) _______________ (see) somebody shoplifting. I’d just finished paying for my clock and as I (3) ______________ (turn) round, an elderly woman (4) ___________(slowly put) a silver plate into a bag that she (5) ____________ (carry). Then she (5) ___________ (walk) over to another part of the shop and, when she (7) ___________ (think) that nobody (8) ____________ (look), she (9) _______________ (put) an expensive-looking watch into the bag. Before I (10) ___________ (have) a chance to tell the staff in the shop, she (11) ___________ (notice) that I (12) _____________ (watch) her and (13) ____________ (hurry) out. Unfortunately for her, two police officers (14) ____________ (walk) past just at that moment and she (15) _______________ (run) straight into them.

2. Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate tense.

Farmers, as we all (1) ___________ (know), (2) _________ (have) a hard time of it in Britain lately, and (3) ____________ (turn) to new ways of earning income from their land. This (4) _____________ (involve) not only planting new kinds of crops, but some strange ways of making money, the most unusual of which has got to be sheep racing. Yes, you (5) __________ (hear) me correctly! A farmer in the West of England now (6) __________ (hold) sheep races on a regular basis, and during the past year over 100 000 people (7) _________ (turn up) to watch the proceedings. ‘I (8) ___________ (pass) the farm on my way to the sea for holiday, ' one punter told me, 'and I (9) ___________ (think) I'd have a look. I (10) ____________ (not believe) it was serious, to tell you the truth.' According to a regular visitor, betting cm sheep is more interesting than betting on horses. 'At proper horse races everyone (11) ___________ (already study) the form of the horses in advance, and there are clear favourites. But nobody (12) ___________ (hear) anything about these sheep! Most people (13) ____________ (find) it difficult to tell one from another in any case.' I (14) ____________ (stay) to watch the races, and I must admit that I (15) ___________ (find) it quite exciting. In a typical race, half a dozen sheep (16) ____________ (race) downhill over a course of about half a mile. Food (17) ___________ (wait) for them at the other end of the track, I ought to add! The sheep (18) ____________ (run) surprisingly fast, although presumably they (19) __________ (not eat) for a while just to give them some motivation. At any rate, the crowd around me (20) __________ (obviously enjoy) their day out at the races, judging by their happy faces and the sense of excitement.

3. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the same.

a) This matter is none of your business.

This matter does ________________________________________

b) This bridge will take us three years to complete.

In three years time we ____________________________________

c) Patsy wasn't always so unfriendly.

Patsy didn't ____________________________________________

d) We'll be at your house soon.

It won't _______________________________________________

e) I haven't seen Anne for years.

It's years _______________________________________________

f) The dog keeps stealing my socks!

The dog is _____________________________________________

g) After taking the pills, I began to feel much better.

Since taking ____________________________________________

h) We'll have to leave immediately at the end of the film.

The moment ____________________________________________

i) Harry left before we reached the hotel.

By the time _____________________________________________

j) Is there such a place as Eldorado?

Does __________________________________________________

4. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals, and so that the meaning stays the same.

b) When is the train due со arrive? GET

_______________________________________________________

c) I shouldn't think Paul knows the answer. DOUBT

_______________________________________________________

d) I've had to wait all afternoon. BEEN

_______________________________________________________

e) Today is Liz and John's thirtieth wedding anniversary. FOR

_______________________________________________________

f) By the end of the week, Harry was well again. GOT

_______________________________________________________

g) Whose watch is this? BELONG

_______________________________________________________

h) Cathy hasn't been on holiday with her sister before. FIRST

_______________________________________________________

i) My dentist's appointment is for next Wednesday. TO

_______________________________________________________

5. Complete each sentence with an appropriate word or phrase.

b) Can you remember what you _____________ten years ago today?

c) This is the first jazz concert I _______________ to.

d) Don't eat any more ice cream, you ________________ sick.

e) I have hated this place ever ________________ here.

f) I hope that by the end of the month I ______________ all the decorating.

g) Sheila and Ken _______________to each other since their quarrel last week!

h) Do _______________ going to the cricket match tomorrow?

i) We can't go skiing because it ______________ enough yet.

j) Penny ______________ to going on holiday, but she ended up very disappointed.

k) I began to recover my strength later, once I _________________a good meal.

6. Choose the most appropriate word or phrase.

a) ______________ we get to the theatre, the play will have started.

A) As soon as B) Until C) By the time D) Whenever

b) What's the matter? Haven't you started ______________?

A) already` B)yet c) by now D)soon

c) The trouble with you is that you're ________________ complaining.

A) forever B) often C) still D) each time

d) Can you remember what you were doing _________________?

A) the time B) usually C) every day D) at the time

7. Put each verb in brackets into the most appropriate perfect or past tense.

a) I’m sorry I haven’t come/haven’t been coming (not come) to class lately.

I ____________ (work) late in the evenings for the past fortnight.

b) So far we __________ (not notice) anything unusual, but we ___________ (not pay) very close attention.

c) I wonder if Mary ____________(reach) home yet? She ___________ (leave) too late to catch the bus.

d) Here is the news. The Home Office __________ (announce) that the two prisoners who ____________ (escape) from Dartmoor prison earlier this morning ____________ (give themselves up) to local police.

e) ______________ (you make up) your minds? What _____________ (you decide) to do?

f) Harry _____________ (leave) home rather suddenly and we ____________ (not hear) from him since.

g) Recent research _____________ (show) that Columbus ______________ (not discover) America, but that Vikings _____________ (land) there five hundred years before him.

h) I think that people _____________ (become) tired of the poor quality of television programmes, though they ___________ (improve) lately.

i) ____________ (something happen) to the lines? I ____________ (try) to get through to Glasgow for the past hour.

j) Bill __________ (get) that new job, but he _______________ (complain) about it ever since.

8. Complete each sentence a) to j) with an appropriate ending from 1) to10). Do not use an ending more than once.

a) I haven't been feeling very well __ 5 _ 1) ____ time and time again.

b) I went to the dentist's ______ 2) ____ all my life.

c) I’ve lived here ______ 3) ____ so far.

d) Don't worry. I haven't been waiting_____ 4) ____ for the time being.

e) I've written two pages ______ 5) ____ for the past hour or

two.

f) I waited outside your house ______ 6) ____ yet.

g) I've warned you about this ______ 7) ____ till half past eight.

h) I haven't made a decision _______ 8) ____ for a while.

i) The repair worked _______ 9) ____ the other day.

j) I've decided to believe you ______ 10) ___ long.

9. Put in a suitable word or phrase in the correct present or past tense.

1) As soon as I _______________________ on fire, I phoned the fire brigade.

2) By the end of 1990 he ______________________ eleven different countries.

3) The river has flooded because ______________________ heavily for weeks.

4) Where have you been? I ________________ for hours.

5) The first time I _____________________ a bicycle, I kept falling off.

6) Steven didn't realize he ________________ until he put his hand in his pocket.

7) Mark was out of breath. He _________________________ for an hour.

8) He is very strong because ___________________________ every day.

9) He ____________________________ the park when it started to snow.

10)Don't make too much noise! The baby _________________________.

10. Most of the sentences have one verb in the wrong tense. Correct them or write right.

1. I was pleased to see my old college friends at the conference last week as we didn't see each other since we finished our course. as we hadn’t seen other

2. We had to wait for hours at the airport because the bad weather had delayed all the flights. RIGHT

3. Many modern medicines were not invented by western scientists but by tribal people who had been using them for generations before the Europeans arrived.

_________________________________________________________________

4. We missed our train, so by the time we reached the theatre, the play ended and the audience was leaving the theatre.

__________________________________________________________________

5. At the end of their meal they found they couldn't pay the bill because they didn't bring any money with them.

__________________________________________________________________

6. The children were thrilled when they unwrapped the electronic toys, but when they discovered that nobody bought a battery they were very disappointed.

__________________________________________________________________

7. When I came out of the cinema I had found that a thief had taken my car radio.

__________________________________________________________________

8. At first the authorities thought the athlete had been taking drugs, but they soon realised they mixed up the results of the tests.

__________________________________________________________________

9. When the film star came into the restaurant I didn't recognise her because I didn't see any of her films.

__________________________________________________________________

10. When we reached the city centre we couldn't find a parking space, so we had decided to go by bus the next time.

__________________________________________________________________

11. Complete the following conversation using the verbs supplied.

Jean has called to see her boyfriend Gary.

GARY: Jean, I'm surprised to see you.

jean: Well, I think you owe me an explanation.

GARY: Me? What about you? (1) I saw (I / see) you in the cafe last night. (2) We had arranged (we / arrange) to meet at the cinema, if you remember.

JEAN: So why (3) didn’t you come (you / not / come) into the cafe if you saw me?

GARY: (4) ___________________ (I / be) too angry. And cold.

(5) __________________ (I / wait) outside the cinema for three-quarters of an hour.

JEAN: But why? (6) ___________________________ (you / not / get) my note?

GARY: What note?

jean: The note (7) __________________ (I / leave) here yesterday afternoon. When (8) ____________________ (I / go) past the cinema yesterday lunchtime (9) ______________________ (I / notice) that (10) ___________________ (they / change) the film. So (11) _________________ (I / put) a note under your door to tell you.

GARY: (12) _____________________ (I / not / find) any note.

JEAN: It must be here. Let me look. Yes. Oh dear. I'm afraid (13) ____________________ (it / slip) under the mat.

GARY: Oh. I'm sorry I was angry. It's just that, well, while (14) _____________________ (I / wait), I was worried about (is) _____________________ (what / happen) to you. And then, (16) _________________ (I / see) you in the cafe. (17) ____________________ (you / laugh) with your friends and (18) ______________________ (I / realise) that (9) _____________________ (you / sit) there quite comfortably with them all evening. (20) _____________________ (I / just / lose) my temper.

JEAN: Never mind. Let's forget it. Where shall we go now?

12. Read the conversation below and fill the spaces with a verb in a suitable tense.

Brian and Jessica are on a training course at a company that publishes popular magazines. During their first morning, they meet for a coffee.

BRIAN: Well, Jess, what have you been doing this morning?

JESS: Oh, it's been really busy. I (l) ’ve been going round all the different departments to see what they do. What about you? (2) Have you seen anything interesting?

BRIAN: I (3) _________________________ to the finance department, accounts and personnel.

JESS: That doesn't sound very exciting!

BRIAN: No, you're right. But this afternoon I'm going to see the art department, where they (4) ______________________ the designs for all the magazines.

JESS: Yes, I (5) ________________________ that department already. They (6) ________________________ some fascinating pictures today, but they don't always have such interesting material, they said. And the editors (7) ____________ always _________________ things at the last moment, which (8) ____________________ everyone very irritable.

BRIAN: And I hear that the art editor has a very short temper.

JESS: Don't worry, he's not there today. He (9) ________________________ to some exhibition.

BRIAN: Oh, good. Hey, who's that man over there? He (10) __________________ us since we came in.

JESS: The one by the door? I don't know. He (11) ______________________ like a lawyer or something, not a journalist. Perhaps he (12) ______________________ only __________________ here to look round, like us.

BRIAN: Careful, he (13) ______________________ this way.

MAN: Excuse me, are you the two trainees who (14) _________________ the day here?

JESS: That's right.

MAN: (15) __________________________ yourselves?

BRIAN: Er, yes. Thank you. But –

MAN: Oh, yes. I'm David Gordon. I (16) ___________________________ this company.

13. Supply suitable verbs for the following conversation.

Ann is getting ready to leave her office. A colleague, John, comes into the room.

JOHN: Oh, Ann, I'm glad I've caught you. Can you stay on and help us finish some work? You remember the new client I (l) was telling you about yesterday? Well, we've got to do a presentation to her tomorrow.

ANN: But I (2) _____________ just ___________________.

JOHN: You don't have to go, do you, though? You (3) _____________________ your shopping at lunchtime, (4) ___________________________ (not) you?

ANN: And now I want to go home.

JOHN: Oh, come on Ann, please. It'll only be for an hour.

ANN: That's what you (5) _____________________ last time. I (6) ______________ letters for two hours, then when I (7) _________________ nearly ________________ them all, you (8) ________________ me do half of them again because you (9) ________________ (not) me the right address file, so I (10) __________________ them all wrong!

JOHN: OK, if that's how you feel about it. But next time you need help, don't be surprised if I remind you that you (11) ______________________ to help me!

14. Choose the correct form of the verbs. Read through each conversation before you start.

A

TERRY: What (l) did you do / have you done / had you done last night?

ANGIE: Well, I (2) have hoped / have been hoping / had been hoping to go out, but I (3) have had / had / had had too much work.

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PETE: What part of Birmingham (4) do you live / did you live / have you lived in when you (5) were / have been / were being a student?

PATRICK: A place called Selly Oak. (6) Do you know / Did you know / Have you known it?

PETE: Oh, yes. I (7) was passing / used to pass / have passed through it nearly every day when I (8) was living / have been living / have lived there.

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GILLIAN: (9) Do you write / Have you written / Were you writing to the bank manager yet?

MARK: I (10) haven't finished / hadn't finished / didn't finish yet, (11) I've been trying / I've tried/I tried to decide what to say.

GILLIAN: Hurry up! He (12) is expecting / has expected / has been expecting your reply since last week.

D

BRIAN: Our teacher (13) invites / has invited / invited the class to his house on Saturday. (14) Do you go / Are you going / Have you gone?

LUKE: I'm afraid not. I (15) work / used to work / am working for my father on Saturdays.

E

PHILIPPA: When (16) did you hear / have you heard / had you heard your exam results?

CLARA: When I (17) had phoned / phoned / have phoned my teacher. She (18) has been checking / has checked / was checking the list when I (19) had rung / rang / am ring in g, so she (20) was telling / told / tells me then.

PHILIPPA: (21) Have you expected / Have you been expecting / Had you been expecting to do so well?

CLARA: Not really, to be honest!

15. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

Norma isn't happy with her life, if she 1) had listened (listen) to her mother's advice, she 2) __________ (stay) at school and gone on to university. She 3)____________ (can/find) a good job if she had got a degree. Norma hates the job she is doing now. She thinks she 4) __________ (go) crazy if she 5) __________ (stay) there much longer. If she 6) ___________ (be) offered another job, she would take it immediately. In fact, she 7) __________ (leave) if she 8) ___________ (can) afford to, but she can't. Life 9) ______________ (be) easier if she (not/have) two children to support.

16. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

1. He’ll be furious if he ever finds out (find out) about this.
2. The animals at the zoo __________________________ (die) unless they're fed.
3. I ___________________ (run) home if I'd known the football match was on TV.
4. The teacher ____________________ (not/shout) at her if she did her homework.
5. He ____________________ (buy) a car provided that he passes his driving test.
6. We _________________________________ (miss) the lecture unless we hurry.
7. If she’d passed her exams, she _________________________ (go) to university.
8. If I ___________________ (understand) the question, I might be able to answer it!
9. I _______________________ (tell) you if I should hear from him.
10. If he ____________________ (forget) his ticket, they wouldn’t have let him in.