English Tenses – Revision

Present and Past Tenses

1. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple present or present progressive)

1. Look! Sara (go) to the movies.

2. On her right hand, Sara (carry) her handbag.
3. The handbag (be) very beautiful.
4. Sara usually (put) on black shoes but now she (wear) white trainers.
5. And look, she (take) an umbrella because it (rain)

2. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or past perfect)

1. When he (wake up) , his mother (already /prepare) breakfast

2. We (go) to London because our friends (invite) us
3. He (hear) the news, (go) to the telephone and (call) a
friend.
4. When she (start) learning English she (already /learn) French.
5. Jane (already / type) three pages when her computer (crash) .
6. By the time the doctor (arrive) at the house the patient ( die) .
7. Before that day we (never / think) of traveling to Japan.
8. I (know) him a long time before I (meet) his family.
9. They (not / know) where to meet because nobody (tell) them.
10. It (be) cloudy for days before it (begin) to rain.

3. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or present perfect).

1. I (just / finish) my homework.

2. Mary (already / write) five letters.
3. Tom (move) to his home town in 1994.
4. My friend (be) in Canada two years ago.
5. I (not / be) to Canada so far.
6. But I (already / travel) to London a couple of times.
7. Last week, Mary and Paul (go) to the cinema.

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 8. I can't take any pictures because I (not /buy) a new film yet.
9. (they / spend) their holidays in Paris last summer?
10. (you / ever / see ) a whale?

4. Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).

1. The receptionist (welcome) the guests and (ask) them to fill in the form
2. The car (break) down and we (have) to walk home.
3. The boys (swim) while the girls (sunbath) .
4. My father (come) in, (look) and (tell) me to tidy up my
room.
5. While one group (prepare) dinner the others (collect) wood for the
campfire.
6. While the parents (have) breakfast the children (run) about.
7. Martha (turn) off the light and (go) to bed.

5. Put the verbs into the correct tense:

1. When Carol (call) last night, I (watch) my favorite show on television.

2. I (work) for this company for more than thirty years, and I intend to stay here until I
retire !

3. Sharon (love) to travel. She (go) abroad almost every summer. Next year,
she plans to go to Peru.

4. Thomas is an author. He (write) mystery novels and travel memoirs. He (write)

since he was twenty-eight. Altogether, he (write) seven novels, three
collections of short stories and a book of poetry.

5. We were late because we had some car problems. By the time we (get) to the train station,
Susan (wait) for us for more than two hours.

6. Sam (try) to change a light bulb when he (slip) and (fell) .

7. Everyday I (wake) up at 6 o'clock, (eat) breakfast at 7 o'clock and (leave)

for work at 8 o'clock. However, this morning I (get) up at 6:30, (skip)

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 breakfast and (leave) for work late because I (forget) to set my
alarm.

8. Right now, Jim (read) the newspaper and Kathy (make) dinner. Last night at
this time, they (do) the same thing. She (cook) and he (read) the
newspaper. Tomorrow at this time, they (do, also) the same thing.
She (prepare) dinner and he (read) . They are very predictable people!

9.
Jane talks on the phone.
Bob has been talking on the phone for an hour.
Mary is talking on the phone.

Who is not necessarily on the phone now?

10.
Jane left when Tim arrived.
Bob left when Tim had arrived.
When Tim arrived, Mary was leaving.
John had left when Tim arrived.
After Tim arrived, Frank left.

Who did not run into Tim?

11.
Jane is talking in class.
Bob always talks in class.
Mary is always talking in class.

Whose action bothers you?

12.
Jane never left Jamestown.
Bob has never left Jamestown.

Who is still alive?

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 6. Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Simple, or Past Perfect Continuous?

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. This time last year I ............................. (live) in Malaysia.

2. While I .................... (travel) to work this morning I ......................... (witness) a terrible car crash.

3. The pilot .................... (have) problems with the engines and so they couldn't take off again until checks
had been made.

4. It was only after she .................... (read) the letter twice that she......................... (start) crying.

5. Her eyes were tired because she .................... (sit) at her computer all day.

6. When I .................... (arrive) at work yesterday I realized that I.................... (leave) my presentation on
the train.

7. I .................... (wake up) this morning with a terrible headache.

7. Put the verbs in brackets in the appropriate tense:

I... 1 ……………. (walk) along the main street one day when I suddenly ... 2 ………. (see) something
strange: a man I ... 3 ............. (see) before, the same height as me who ... 4 …….... (have) a beard just
like mine ... 5 ………….. (cross) the street a few steps from me, coming to my direction. He ... 6
………….. (pass) by me and I ... 7 ........... (freeze) amazed. He ... 8 ……….. (wear) a blue shirt and a
dark suit and he ... 9 ………….. (carry) a suitcase. I ... 10 …………,..(turn) around and followed him.
I……..11……….….behind him, (walk) ... 12 …………... (think) whether or not to stop him and ask
him if he ... 13 …………….... (notice) the resemblance. Suddenly he ... 14 ………….. (turn) and as I
... 15…………... (stare) at him he said: you're my double, aren't you?

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 8. Put the verbs in brackets in the appropriate tense:

1) In 1998, John______________ (visit) Tahiti with a group of friends.

2) This month Tom _________________ (revise) for his exams.

3) Julie is at the cinema waiting for Tom. She _______________ (wait) for 10 minutes.

4) Marie only has half an hour for lunch so she usually ______________ (have) a sandwich.

5) David is a good friend of mine. I _______________ (know) him since I was six years old.

6) At the moment I need to concentrate. I __________________ (do) a grammar exercise.

7) Tom is writing an important report. He _______________(write) 4 pages already.

8) Once a month Caroline _______________ (go) to the hairdresser's to have her hair cut.

9) Last year Peter ________________(travel) all over Australia.

10) Next Saturday, Peter ________________(take) Caroline to the theatre.

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 9. Fill the gaps with the correct tenses.

1. I (learn) English for seven years now.

2. But last year I (not / work) hard enough for English, that's why my marks (not / be)

really that good then.

3. As I (pass / want) my English exam successfully next year, I (study) harder

this term.

4. During my last summer holidays, my parents (send) me on a language course to

London.

5. It (be) great and I (think) I (learn) a lot.

6. Before I (go) to London, I (not / enjoy) learning English.

7. But while I (do) the language course, I (meet) lots of young people from all
over the world.

8. There I (notice) how important it (be) to speak foreign languages nowadays.

9. Now I (have) much more fun learning English than I (have) before the
course.

10. At the moment I (revise) English grammar.

11. And I (begin / already) to read the texts in my English textbooks again.

12. I (think) I (do) one unit every week.

13. My exam (be) on 15 May, so there (not / be) any time to be lost.

14. If I (pass) my exams successfully, I (start) an apprenticeship in September.

15. And after my apprenticeship, maybe I (go) back to London to work there for a while.

16. As you (see / can) , I (become) a real London fan already.

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 10. Fill the gaps with the correct tenses.

1. Bewley's (be) an old Irish tea house chain.

2. The history of the famous Bewley's Oriental Cafés (begin) in 1835 when Charles
Bewley (import) over 2000 chests of tea directly from the Chinese province of Canton
to Dublin.
3. It (not / look) like a great deal today, but back then it (be) a coup: no man
before (dare) to import tea directly into Ireland.
4. Bewley's initiative (put) an end to the East India Trading Company's tea monopoly
which before 1835 (force) the Irish to import their tea from London.
5. Samuel Bewley's son Joshua also (become) a tea merchant.
6. Like his father, he (import) tea into Ireland.
7. The Irish (like) the idea of not having to import old tea from London.
8. A tea expert (notice) that even the poorest Irish people (buy) only the finest
tea.
9. By the end of the 19th century a tea culture (develop) in Ireland.
10. In 1894, Joshua's son Ernest Bewley (want) to stimulate the market for a product that
(be) rather unknown that far: coffee.
11. In the back of his shop in Dublin's George's Street, he (begin) to run coffee making
demonstrations.
12. His wife (bake) scones to go with the coffee, and the couple soon (find out)
that their idea (be) extremely popular among customers.
13. That (mark) the beginning of the first Bewley's Oriental Café.
14. In Dublin's Grafton Street, Ernest Bewley (open) another Bewley's Oriental Café in
1927, on which he (spend) nearly 60,000 Pound.
15. Still now the interior furnishings and wonderful stain glass (provide) a very special
oriental flair.
16. During World War II, Bewley's (must restrict) the supply of tea to an ounce per head,
and many customers (switch) to coffee.
17. Today, Bewley's (be) Ireland's leading supplier of quality coffees and teas.
18. It (create) a catering service for larger customers such as Trinity College and it (open)
cafés in book stores and Dublin Airport.
19. Bewley's Clipper Gold Tea and Espresso Prima (win) Gold Awards in the London
Great Taste Awards.

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