Put these verbs in the right tense:

(present simple, present continuous, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, future)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

My father sometimes________________WORK long hours.

Where _____________ your mother___________WORK?
I ______________ HAVE breakfast now.
___________ you ____________ LIVE in Dover?
He _______________ VISIT France last week.
I usually ________________ WAKE UP at 7.00, but yesterday I _____________
WAKE UP much later.
7. I usually _______________ GO to scool by bus, but yesterday I _____________ TAKE
a taxi because I _____________ BE late.
8. My brother usually _____________ EAT cereals for breakfast, but last Sunday he
___________ EAT bread and butter.
9. ___________ you __________SEE Danny last night?
10.When ____________ she ___________ COME to London? She _____________
COME to London last week.
11.I ___________ READ a magazine when the phone ___________ RING.
12.We ______________ WAIT for the bus when it _____________ START to rain.
13.I _________________ GO to school when I ______________ SEE you.
14.While the boys _______________ GO to school, they _______________ SEE a car
accident.
15.Everybody _________________ WRITE when the bell _____________ RING.
16.While I ____________________ SING the baby ____________ FALL asleep.
17.The children _________________ DRINK milk now. They ___________ DRINK milk
every morning.
18.They ______________ HAVE breakfast at the moment.
19.Listen! Somebody _______________ PLAY the piano.
20._____________ this book ____________ BELONG to you?
21.I must go, mother _____________ WAIT for me.
22.We ____________GO to the Danube Delta next summer.
23.He __________ probably________ GO swimming next Sunday.
24.___________ you ____________COOK yesterday morning?
25.My baby brother always _____________DRINK milk for breakfast, but this morning he
_____________ DRINK tea.
26.I _____________READ a lot in my spare time. I ____________ READ three novels
last week.
27.I always ________________ GIVE mother flowers on her birthday. Last year I
____________ GIVE her a book.
28.Last winter we ___________ HAVE a lot of snow.
29.I ____________ FORGET to set my clock last night, so I _____________ WAKE UP
late this morning.

30.They _________________ PLAY tennis yesterday when it ____________START to

rain.
31.What ____________ you ___________ DO yesterday afternoon when I ____________
PHONE you?
32.Helen ____________BE at home, doing her homework for tomorrow. She
_____________WRITE the first exercise.
33.___________you ________DO your homework yet?
34.I dont know Angela. I ____________ NOT MEET her.
35.The children __________NOT HAVE a swim since last summer.
36.I_____________NOT HEAR from him for two months.
37.No one ______________FIND Barbaras glasses yet. She _____________LOSE them
during the Physical Education lesson.
38.He _________________WRITE a lot of letters yesterday. He already
________________WRITE two letters this morning. He _______________WRITE a
letter now.
39.____________you ____________SEE my pencil? I ____________LOSE it.
40.I ______________LEARN English for the last two years, and now I
________________STUDY French too.
41.He ____________just _________COME home.
42.He _______________LIVE in London since 1980.
43.I ________________LIVE in Bucharest since I was born.
44.While Peter __________________WORK in the garden yesterday, it
_______________START to rain. When it ___________START to rain, Peter
______________GO inside.
45.They _______________WORK very hard next year.
46.The weather _____________BE fine tomorrow.
47.I _______________WAIT for him almost an hour yesterday but he
______________NOT COME.
48.This is the most absurd thing I __________ever___________HEAR.
49.I usually _____________HAVE breakfast at 7.00, but my brother _____________NOT
LIKE to get up so early.
50.She last ______________SEE him ten years ago.
Complete the story with the past tense of the verbs:
It was late in the evening of December 16th 1878. Doctor Charles Blunden, a well-known
Liverpool doctor, was still in his surgery. At about 9 p.m.
somebody____________KNOCK at the door. On the doorstep there ___________BE a
boy of about twelve wearing dirty trouses and no shoes. There ____________BE a dark
blue scarf around his neck. Doctor! he ___________SAY, Please come with me! My
mother _____________BE ill! I think she ___________DIE. The

doctor_____________FOLLOW the boy to a street near the surgery. The

boy______________POINT to a woman on the ground. She was unconscious. The doctor
_____________LOOK at the woman and then______________ STOP a passing horse and
cab. The doctor and the boy_____________ LIFT the woman into the cab. At the hospital
the doctor ____________TREAT the woman for pneumonia and luckily she
______________RECOVER completely. Some weeks later, the
woman_____________THANK Doctor Blunden for saving her life. He
______________SMILE and ___________SAY that the real person to thank was the
womans son. My son? she ____________SAY, No, not my son! and she
______________START to cry. My son ____________DIE from fever two years ago.
Doctor Blunden _____________BE amazed. The woman continued, This is all I have to
remember him by. She _____________SHOW him a dark blue scarf. It was his. I always
wear it in winter. Doctor Blunden______________RECOGNISE it immediately. It was
the barefoot boys scarf.
Put the verbs into the present simple or present continuous:
1. He usually_______________DRINK coffee but today he ____________DRINK tea.
2. I wont go out as it ___________RAIN and I ______________NOT HAVE AN
UMBRELLA.
3. What she ______________DO in the evenings?
4. He ______________COME to see me tonight; we _____________GO on a trip
tomorrow.
5. I _____________LISTEN very carefully but still I __________________NOT
UNDERSTAND what he ____________DRIVE at.
6. Mary ____________SEE a doctor about this tomorrow.
7. Im sick and tired of John and I ______________THINK of telling him what I
______________THINK of him.
8. Pardon me, madam, but I _____________THINK you ______________STAND on my
feet.
9. I_______________NOT HEAR anything. You just _______________IMAGINE things.
10.The court _____________HEAR this case next week.
11.Dont take his remarks too seriously. Hes so upset that I _______________NOT
THINK he really ____________KNOW what he _____________SAY.
12.He always _____________SAY he will mend the window but he never
____________DO it.
Put the verbs into the present perfect simple or the past perfect:
1. I _____________FLY over Loch Ness last week. You ______________SEE the
Loch Ness monster? I _______________NOT SEE him for three years. I wonder
where he is.

2. You ___________BE there before? Yes, I ______________SPEND my holidays

here last year. You _______________HAVE a good time? No, it never
______________STOP raining.
3. You ____________LIKE your last job? I _____________LIKE it at first but then I
_____________QUARREL with my employer and he ______________DISMISS me.
4. She ______________SAY shed phone me this morning but it is now 12.30 and she
________________NOT PHONE yet.
5. What are those people looking at? There ____________BE an accident. You
_____________SEE what ____________HAPPEN?
6. I havent seen her since she _____________GET married.
7. I havent seen her since she _____________BE married.
8. Where you _____________FIND this knife? I ______________FIND it in the
garden. Why you _____________NOT LEAVE it there?
9. Someone ______________RING up half an hour ago and _____________SAY that
there was a bomb in the aeroplane. Since then the crew have been searching for it but
they _____________NOT FIND it. This is the third scare bomb they
___________HAVE this week.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Put the verbs into the right tense:

I ______________KNOW the answer tomorrow.
He ______________RESEMBLE his father in a few years time.
He ______________TELL you what you want to know when he ___________HAVE
the necessary information.
They ____________GET married next week.
By the time you _____________COME back I _____________FINISH the whole work
alone.
He ___________BE about to leave the room when the phone rang.
By next Sunday my friend _____________STAY in bed for two weeks.
You ___________FEEL a lot better after you _____________HAVE a rest.

Put the verbs into simple past, past continuous or past perfect:
Until 1217 all English forests such as the New Forest and Sherwood Forest
_____________BELONG to the Norman kings. They were royal hunting grounds and
Saxon people____________NOT HAVE the right to hunt in them. The rules for the royal
hunting ground_______always__________BE strict, but William I, also called William the
Conqueror, made them stricter. If a man killed a deer without the kings permission, his eye
was put out, or his hand was cut off. No wonder that when William I died, nobody
_________FEEL sorry for him. He _________BE too cruel to them. He
___________MAKE so many wise laws that although the English admired him, they could
not love him. William II, one of the Conquerors three sons, was even crueller than his
father. He was called William Rufus, or the Red King because of his red face and hair. He

____________MAKE the forest laws even harsher than before. While he

____________HUNT, nobody was allowed to walk in the forest. What is more, a man was
hanged if he _________KILL a deer. It is no wonder that people said that evil would catch
him some day in the depths of the forest. By the time he died, their words
_____________COME true.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Put the verbs into present perfect simple:

Antonella ____________LIVE in Rome for two years.
George ___________HAVE a job in a sports shop since January.
We ____________BE on holiday since Sunday
Sarah ____________NOT BE to Greece since 1998.
My parents ___________BE married for thirty years.
Paul ____________KNOW Stefanie since he was a child.
__________you ___________SPEAK to your friend since last Sunday.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Put the verbs into present simple or present continuous:

Jack is at the gym. He ___________PLAY basketball.
Louise _____________LIKE ballet music very much.
Sarah ____________DO gymnastics every Thursday evening.
Sam and Katie ____________HAVE a tennis lesson at the moment.
Joe usually _____________RUN round the park every evening.

Put the verbs into past tense simple or past tense continuous:
Levi Strauss _____________LIVE with his family on the eastern coast of America when,
like many other Americans, he ____________CATCH California gold fever in 1849. To
raise money for the voyage he ________________SELL cloth from his brothers shop.
When he ____________GET to San Francisco, one of the first people he
______________MEET was a miner who __________ASK if they had brought any pants
with them from where they ______________COME. As he _______________LISTEN to
the miner explaining that gold seekers quickly _____________WEAR out their trousers,
Strauss _____________SEE a need. So he ______________MAKE pants out of his tough
canvas. They ______________BECOME as profitable as finding gold and they were called
Levis. Still, Levis _______________NOT REMAIN a uniform only for those who
_______________SEEK gold. The gold ______________RUN out. But during the 1860s
people _____________BRING news of the Levis to Texas. There, the cowboys who
______________WORK as hard as miners _____________FIND the pants solid and
comfortable as well. And that ____________CHANGE the clothing habits of the whole
country. By the early part of the 20th century more and more people ___________MOVE to
the cities. Still, the cowboy ______________BECOME the great American hero. He
featured in books, magazines, movies and finally in television. As he
________________BECOME a legend, so ___________DO the clothes he

______________WEAR . So by the middle of the century, everybody

_______________WEAR them from children to movie stars and the president of the
United States.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Put the verbs in the present perfect simple or the past tense simple:
Diana first ____________MEET Mark three years ago.
They _____________BE friends for a long time.
Last summer they _____________AGREE to get married, but they ___________CAN
NOT decide when.
When Diana ____________SEE that Mark ___________BE afraid to get married, she
_____________THINK of a trick.
She just_____________PHONE Marks parents to ask for their help.
Now Dianas and Marks parents and friends____________BE in the church since 10
oclock.
At last, Mark _______________UNDERSTAND whose wedding it was.
I ____________NOT WATCH TV last night.
Put the verbs in the past tense or the past perfect:
Mike _____________MISS the train yesterday because he _____________GET UP too
late.
When
Nick
______________ARRIVE
the
stadium,
the
match________already___________START.
After the rain ____________START, the children _______________GO home.
By that time mother ______________COOK dinner.
John ______________TURN the corner when he _____________HEAR a strange
noise.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Complete with the verbs in the right form:

It _________BE easier if you used a dictionary.
If he were rich he ___________travel all over the world.
If I were elected Prime Minister I ___________ABOLISH taxes.
If he __________BE older, he would understand politics better.
If you ____________WORK harder, you would have better results.
I __________HELP him with his project, if I knew how.
Unless we ___________HAVE a car of our own, we couldnt always arrive on time.
What would she say if she __________FIND OUT the truth?

1.
2.
3.
4.

Put the verbs in the present perfect or past simple:

In 19th century England, people ____________READ books called Penny Dreadfuls.
I ___________READ comics when I was younger.
People around the world __________READ comics for over 100 years.
When I was little, I thought Superman really ____________EXIST.

5. Batman ____________BE my favourite comic character since I ____________BE ten.

6. Herge first published Tintin in 1929. My grandfather ____________ENJOY this comic
since then.
7. Christies, who are famous for selling works of art, ___________SELL an old comic
yesterday for 14,3. Mr. Carr, the man who ______________BUY it, says it
_____________NOT BE expensive. He should know, he ___________BUY many old
comics in the last few years. Hes a collector. Mr. Carr ___________START his
collection some years ago. Since that time, he ____________BUY copies of the comics
where Batman and Spiderman first______________APPEAR; and the comic he
__________ADD to his collection yesterday has the first Superman story. The comic,
Action Comics Number 1, ____________COME out in June 1938 in the USA. It
_____________COST 10 cents at the time. Mr. Carrs son, eight-year-old Sam,
____________NOT READ any of the comics in his fathers collection.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs:

If I go on holiday next year, I ___________TAKE some photos.
If I ____________HAVE enough money, Ill buy some souvenirs too.
If I lived on a desert island I _____________HAVE TO go to school.
Unless it rains tomorrow, we _____________SWIM in the sea.
I wont go to the party unless you ____________COME with me.
I wouldnt go camping alone if I ___________BE you.
I ___________BUY your mother a hamster unless I _________BE sure she really
wanted one.

Put the verbs in the past simple or the present perfect simple:
1. I _____________HAVE three cups of tea so far today.
2. _________you ever _________SEE a yak?
3. Mark last ____________SEE Jennifer three days ago.
4. They ________already ___________CHECK IN for the flight.
5. How long ago _________the bus _________LEAVE ?
6. __________you _________WRITE your diary yet?
7. I ________just __________HEAR about the fire.
8. Their plane ___________LAND at 6.45 this morning.
9. We _____________NOT SPEAK English since we ____________ARRIVE.
10.Caroline _____________VISIT her stepsister a few months ago.
11._________you ever _________MEET my friend George? Yes, I ___________MEET
him last week at a party.
12.We ___________SEE the new Star Wars film ages ago but we ___________NOT SEE
any films recently.
13.When __________Sally and Neil _________GET MARRIED? In May last year.
14.I ___________LOOK everywhere but I ____________NOT FIND it yet.
15.When _________you last _________USE it?

16.Guess what I _________just _______DO? I _________BUY a mountain bike.

Complete the story with the correct form of the verbs: past simple, past
continuous, past perfect:
1. One summer afternoon in New York in 1875, while his wife
_______________PREPARE dinner, Mr. Levi Gamin _____________LEAVE his house
to buy some tobacco. He _________never ___________RETURN. Sixty years later
in1935, The New York Times _____________PRINT a story about a man dressed in
strange old-fashioned clothes who ______________STEP in front of a car while
crossing Times Square. He ______________DIE instantly. The dead man
______________CARRY no identification and there was nothing in his pocket except
some old bank notes from the year 1875. The police ______________HAVE no idea
who the man was or why he _______________WEAR such strange clothes, until a
police officer ________________DECIDE to check the missing persons file for 1875.
In the file was a description of Mr. Gamin which matched the description of the dead
man exactly. It was then that the questions ________________BEGIN. Why
__________Mr. Gamin ____________DISAPPEAR in 1875? How __________he
suddenly ___________TURN UP in Times Square in 1935? Where _____________BE
he for the past sixty years and why ___________his appearance ____________NOT
CHANGE? ___________Mr. Gamin really _____________VANISH into thin air or
____________something unknown ____________TAKE him into another dimension?
2. My sister and I _________never_________BE to Sweden before so we
_____________LOOK forward to our trip. We ___________CATCH the train from
London to the ferry terminal at Harwich, but while we _____________WALK towards
the ferry, we ______________HEAR that it ______________NOT ARRIVE from
Sweden yet because a bad storm _____________BLOW UP during the morning. The
ferry finally ______________ARRIVE at midnight after we _____________SPEND
eight hours playing cards and drinking coffee.
Complete the conversation with the present perfect simple or continuous
form of the verbs:
Mum: Hi, Joe. ___________you _________HAVE a good day?
Joe: It was OK. I can smell onions.
Mum: Yes, I ____________MAKE hamburgers. Theyre nearly ready.
Joe: Great. Im hungry. I ____________NOT HAVE anything to eat since breakfast.
Mum: _________Jenny__________DECIDE to come for supper or not?
Joe:
I dont know. I ___________TRY to phone her all afternoon, but her line
__________BE engaged.
Mum: No problem. I ___________MAKE enough food for six. Anyway, Im not very
hungry.
Joe: Why?
Mum: Because I _________EAT bits and pieces from the fridge all day!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs:

If I ____________WIN the lottery, I _________never_________WORK again.
If Helen __________WIN a million pounds, she _____________GIVE some to charity.
It _____________BE amazing if Brad ______________PASS his driving test the first
time.
It ____________NOT SURPRISE me if Brazil _____________WIN the World Cup.
I _____________BUILD more schools if I _____________BE Prime Minister.
If they ____________OFFER me a job, I _____________TAKE it straightaway.
If I _____________GO to live in the USA, I ______________NOT WANT to live in
Los Angeles.
Surely she ______________NOT GO out with him unless she ______________LIKE
him!

Complete with the correct form of the verbs: past tense, present perfect, past
perfect (simple or continuous):
Four
men
once_______________DWELL
in
a
foreign
country.
They
_______________DEAL in cotton, which they_____________ SELL to Europeans
who_____________WEAVE it into cloth. People _____________KNOW them as Peter,
James, Terence and Archibald. One day an idea ______________STRIKE Peter, and he
____________TELL it to the others. As a result of the idea which
Peter________________BEGET they all ______________PUT their capital together and
_____________GO into partnership. First they_____________BUY a site. Then
they_______________BUILD a warehouse near the docks on part of it. Some time after
they ____________DO this, Peter_______________SPEAK to the others:
I_______________THINK it over, he _____________SAY, and my
meditations_____________BRING it home to me that though up to now
we______________BEAR the responsibilities of the firm jointly, the mistakes that one
man______________ KEEP making________________ COST us a lot.Archibalds
carelessness ______________ DRIVE me to desperation.
After he ______________EXPLAIN his idea further, the others ______________
CATCH what he ___________MEAN but_______________SHRINK from the solution
he____________SEEK to impose. But he____________WIN them round, and
they________________FALL in with his idea. So they________________TEAR UP the
old deed of partenership, and they _____________DRAW UP a new one. They
__________________SPLIT UP their responsibilities equally and each ______________
STRIVE to make the new business pay and the firm _________________THRIVE for a
while. But soon they ________________ BEGIN to have trouble with rats, which
_______________EAT the bales of cotton that the workmen _______________SEW UP
ready for export. So they ______________BUY a cat, ______________TAKE it to the
warehouse, __________________SHUT it and ________________LEAVE it there. When
it _____________TRY to escape, they _______________THRUST it back. Each partner

________________HOLD shares in the cat, one leg to each partner; and they
_______________FEED it by turns. Luckily it _____________EAT very little. One day
they ______________SEE that the cat _____________BE lame. A dog ________________
BITE it or somebody ______________TREAD on it and its leg _______________BLEED
and ________________SWELL. On consulting their books the partners
________________FIND that the leg which the cat _______________HURT
_______________ BE Terences. when Terence _________________LEARN this, he
________________TAKE the cat into the office, _______________ PUT it on the floor,
________________KNELL down, _________________WIND a rag soaked in oil round
the leg, and ______________BIND it carefully. The cat _________________FEEL cold; so
it _________________GO by the fire, where it ______________LIE down and
________________SLEEP. But it _______________CREEP to close, and the bandage
soaked in oil ______________CATCH fire. The cat ________________AWAKE terrorstricken,________________SIT UP, _______________ FLY into a panic,
_________________SPIN round, ________________RUN into the warehouse, and
_________________SET the cotton bales on fire with its blazing leg. A strong wind
_______________BLOW at the time so that the fire __________________ SPREAD and
the whole warehouse _________________BURST into flames. The fire-brigade
________________SPEED to the scene and _______________HACK and
_______________HEW to get into the burning building. But to no purpose. The building
_______________BURN too fast. Numberless rats ________________FLEE from it,
_________________SLIDE into the water, and _______________SWIM away. The
partners ________________LOOK ON helplessly; and their blood almost
________________ FREEZE in their veins, as they think what their fate
______________MAY _______________BE, if they _________________ CAUGHT
inside. The cat ______________BURST through the flames, ________________SPRING
into the street, _______________ SHAKE OFF the burning bandage, and
_______________RID itself of the trouble. The partners ________________CATCH and
________________SMITE the cat, which _______________DIG its claws into them,
and________________BREAK loose. They _________________FLING stones at it. It
________________STEAL off and ________________HIDE. They _________________
SEEK it out, ________________FIND it and _______________SLAY it. After they
_______________SLAY the cat, the partners ________________REMEMBER again what
they ______________LOSE. They ______________TEAR their hair, ______________
REND
their
garments,
_________________BEAT
their
breasts,
__________________WRING their hands and _________________ SHED tears of rage.
Gradually, the first effects of the disaster ________________WEAR OFF, and they
________________ BEGIN to think what to do. Suddenly Peter _______________HIT ON
the solution of the problem of damages. He _________________SEND for Terence. They
_______________MEET
at
their
club.
I
_______________FORGET,
_____________SAY Peter, that it ____________BE your leg which ______________DO
the damage. You must therefore pay us damages. At this Terence ____________GROW
pale. Then he ______________KNIT his brows, ________________GRIND his teeth, and
10

________________ SWING his stick menacingly. When Peter _______________SEE the

reception he _______________GET he _______________ BE afraid to say any more and
_______________RETIRE hastily. He, James and Archie _______________MEET and
_______________ MAKE their decision. They _______________RING UP a lawyer for
legal advice. Then they _______________CLOTHE themselves in their Sunday best and
_______________BRING Terence before a judge. The judge _______________LEND
their lawyer attention for a while, but the latter_______________SPIN out the argument to
such a length, that in the end the judge ______________ CUT him short and
__________________CHIDE him for wasting the time of the court. Then he
_______________LAY down the law. Everybody _________________HANG on his
words. Poor Terence _______________CLING to the hope of success like a drowning man
to
a
straw
and
he
______________BE
justified,
for
the
judge
_________________OVERRIDE the plaintiffs charms. He _______________HEAR the
arguments which the plaintiffs lawyer _____________STRING out to such inordinate
length, he ______________SAY:
It _________________BE true that Terences leg ______________BE on fire,
he_____________GO ON. but it ____________BE also true that the other three legs
______________TAKE the flaming leg to the inflammable cotton-bales. Those three legs
and their owners _________________BEAR the burden of responsibility for the damage.
He therefore ______________ BID the three reimburse Terence for his loss. When Terence
_______________HEAR
this,
his
spirits
_____________RISE.
His
face
________________LIGHT up, and his heart_________________LEAP with joy, as he
__________________DRINK IN the judges words. The plaintiffs ________________FLY
into a rage and __________________PROTEST angrily, for the decision ____________
SPELL ruin to them. But the judge ________________SWEEP their protests aside, and
________________BESEECH them to obey the law. After Terences former associates
________________PAY him off, they________________GIVE UP the cotton trade, and
_______________SHOE horses for a living instead.
Put the verbs into the right tense:
9. I ______________KNOW the answer tomorrow.
10.He ______________RESEMBLE his father in a few years time.
11.He ______________TELL you what you want to know when he ___________HAVE
the necessary information.
12.They ____________GET married next week.
13.By the time you _____________COME back I _____________FINISH the whole work
alone.
14.He ___________BE about to leave the room when the phone rang.
15.By next Sunday my friend _____________STAY in bed for two weeks.
16.You ___________FEEL a lot better after you _____________HAVE a rest.

11

 Put the verbs into simple past, past continuous or past perfect:
Until 1217 all English forests such as the New Forest and Sherwood Forest
_____________BELONG to the Norman kings. They were royal hunting grounds and
Saxon people____________NOT HAVE the right to hunt in them. The rules for the royal
hunting ground_______always__________BE strict, but William I, also called William the
Conqueror, made them stricter. If a man killed a deer without the kings permission, his eye
was put out, or his hand was cut off. No wonder that when William I died, nobody
_________FEEL sorry for him. He _________BE too cruel to them. He
___________MAKE so many wise laws that although the English admired him, they could
not love him. William II, one of the Conquerors three sons, was even crueller than his
father. He was called William Rufus, or the Red King because of his red face and hair. He
____________MAKE the forest laws even harsher than before. While he
____________HUNT, nobody was allowed to walk in the forest. What is more, a man was
hanged if he _________KILL a deer. It is no wonder that people said that evil would catch
him some day in the depths of the forest. By the time he died, their words
_____________COME true.
Put the verbs into present perfect simple:
8. Antonella ____________LIVE in Rome for two years.
9. George ___________HAVE a job in a sports shop since January.
10.We ____________BE on holiday since Sunday
11.Sarah ____________NOT BE to Greece since 1998.
12.My parents ___________BE married for thirty years.
13.Paul ____________KNOW Stefanie since he was a child.
14.__________you ___________SPEAK to your friend since last Sunday.
Put the verbs into present simple or present continuous:
6. Jack is at the gym. He ___________PLAY basketball.
7. Louise _____________LIKE ballet music very much.
8. Sarah ____________DO gymnastics every Thursday evening.
9. Sam and Katie ____________HAVE a tennis lesson at the moment.
10.Joe usually _____________RUN round the park every evening.
Put the verbs into past tense simple or past tense continuous:
Levi Strauss _____________LIVE with his family on the eastern coast of America when,
like many other Americans, he ____________CATCH California gold fever in 1849. To
raise money for the voyage he ________________SELL cloth from his brothers shop.
When he ____________GET to San Francisco, one of the first people he
______________MEET was a miner who __________ASK if they had brought any pants
with them from where they ______________COME. As he _______________LISTEN to
the miner explaining that gold seekers quickly _____________WEAR out their trousers,

12

Strauss _____________SEE a need. So he ______________MAKE pants out of his tough

canvas. They ______________BECOME as profitable as finding gold and they were called
Levis. Still, Levis _______________NOT REMAIN a uniform only for those who
_______________SEEK gold. The gold ______________RUN out. But during the 1860s
people _____________BRING news of the Levis to Texas. There, the cowboys who
______________WORK as hard as miners _____________FIND the pants solid and
comfortable as well. And that ____________CHANGE the clothing habits of the whole
country. By the early part of the 20th century more and more people ___________MOVE to
the cities. Still, the cowboy ______________BECOME the great American hero. He
featured in books, magazines, movies and finally in television. As he
________________BECOME a legend, so ___________DO the clothes he
______________WEAR . So by the middle of the century, everybody
_______________WEAR them from children to movie stars and the president of the
United States.
Put the verbs in the present perfect simple or the past tense simple:
9. Diana first ____________MEET Mark three years ago.
10.They _____________BE friends for a long time.
11.Last summer they _____________AGREE to get married, but they ___________CAN
NOT decide when.
12.When Diana ____________SEE that Mark ___________BE afraid to get married, she
_____________THINK of a trick.
13.She just_____________PHONE Marks parents to ask for their help.
14.Now Dianas and Marks parents and friends____________BE in the church since 10
oclock.
15.At last, Mark _______________UNDERSTAND whose wedding it was.
16.I ____________NOT WATCH TV last night.
Put the verbs in the past tense or the past perfect:
6. Mike _____________MISS the train yesterday because he _____________GET UP too
late.
7. When
Nick
______________ARRIVE
the
stadium,
the
match________already___________START.
8. After the rain ____________START, the children _______________GO home.
9. By that time mother ______________COOK dinner.
10.John ______________TURN the corner when he _____________HEAR a strange
noise.
Complete with the verbs in the right form:
9. It _________BE easier if you used a dictionary.
10.If he were rich he ___________travel all over the world.
11.If I were elected Prime Minister I ___________ABOLISH taxes.

13

12.If he __________BE older, he would understand politics better.

13.If you ____________WORK harder, you would have better results.
14.I __________HELP him with his project, if I knew how.
15.Unless we ___________HAVE a car of our own, we couldnt always arrive on time.
16.What would she say if she __________FIND OUT the truth?
Put the verbs in the present perfect or past simple:
8. In 19th century England, people ____________READ books called Penny Dreadfuls.
9. I ___________READ comics when I was younger.
10.People around the world __________READ comics for over 100 years.
11.When I was little, I thought Superman really ____________EXIST.
12.Batman ____________BE my favourite comic character since I ____________BE ten.
13.Herge first published Tintin in 1929. My grandfather ____________ENJOY this comic
since then.
14.Christies, who are famous for selling works of art, ___________SELL an old comic
yesterday for 14,3. Mr. Carr, the man who ______________BUY it, says it
_____________NOT BE expensive. He should know, he ___________BUY many old
comics in the last few years. Hes a collector. Mr. Carr ___________START his
collection some years ago. Since that time, he ____________BUY copies of the comics
where Batman and Spiderman first______________APPEAR; and the comic he
__________ADD to his collection yesterday has the first Superman story. The comic,
Action Comics Number 1, ____________COME out in June 1938 in the USA. It
_____________COST 10 cents at the time. Mr. Carrs son, eight-year-old Sam,
____________NOT READ any of the comics in his fathers collection.
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs:
8. If I go on holiday next year, I ___________TAKE some photos.
9. If I ____________HAVE enough money, Ill buy some souvenirs too.
10.If I lived on a desert island I _____________HAVE TO go to school.
11.Unless it rains tomorrow, we _____________SWIM in the sea.
12.I wont go to the party unless you ____________COME with me.
13.I wouldnt go camping alone if I ___________BE you.
14.I ___________BUY your mother a hamster unless I _________BE sure she really
wanted one.
Put the verbs in the past simple or the present perfect simple:
17.I _____________HAVE three cups of tea so far today.
18._________you ever _________SEE a yak?
19.Mark last ____________SEE Jennifer three days ago.
20.They ________already ___________CHECK IN for the flight.
21.How long ago _________the bus _________LEAVE ?
22.__________you _________WRITE your diary yet?

14

23.I ________just __________HEAR about the fire.

24.Their plane ___________LAND at 6.45 this morning.
25.We _____________NOT SPEAK English since we ____________ARRIVE.
26.Caroline _____________VISIT her stepsister a few months ago.
27._________you ever _________MEET my friend George? Yes, I ___________MEET
him last week at a party.
28.We ___________SEE the new Star Wars film ages ago but we ___________NOT SEE
any films recently.
29.When __________Sally and Neil _________GET MARRIED? In May last year.
30.I ___________LOOK everywhere but I ____________NOT FIND it yet.
31.When _________you last _________USE it?
32.Guess what I _________just _______DO? I _________BUY a mountain bike.
Complete the story with the correct form of the verbs: past simple, past
continuous, past perfect:
3. One summer afternoon in New York in 1875, while his wife
_______________PREPARE dinner, Mr. Levi Gamin _____________LEAVE his house
to buy some tobacco. He _________never ___________RETURN. Sixty years later
in1935, The New York Times _____________PRINT a story about a man dressed in
strange old-fashioned clothes who ______________STEP in front of a car while
crossing Times Square. He ______________DIE instantly. The dead man
______________CARRY no identification and there was nothing in his pocket except
some old bank notes from the year 1875. The police ______________HAVE no idea
who the man was or why he _______________WEAR such strange clothes, until a
police officer ________________DECIDE to check the missing persons file for 1875.
In the file was a description of Mr. Gamin which matched the description of the dead
man exactly. It was then that the questions ________________BEGIN. Why
__________Mr. Gamin ____________DISAPPEAR in 1875? How __________he
suddenly ___________TURN UP in Times Square in 1935? Where _____________BE
he for the past sixty years and why ___________his appearance ____________NOT
CHANGE? ___________Mr. Gamin really _____________VANISH into thin air or
____________something unknown ____________TAKE him into another dimension?
4. My sister and I _________never_________BE to Sweden before so we
_____________LOOK forward to our trip. We ___________CATCH the train from
London to the ferry terminal at Harwich, but while we _____________WALK towards
the ferry, we ______________HEAR that it ______________NOT ARRIVE from
Sweden yet because a bad storm _____________BLOW UP during the morning. The
ferry finally ______________ARRIVE at midnight after we _____________SPEND
eight hours playing cards and drinking coffee.
Complete the conversation with the present perfect simple or continuous
form of the verbs:

15

Mum: Hi, Joe. ___________you _________HAVE a good day?

Joe: It was OK. I can smell onions.
Mum: Yes, I ____________MAKE hamburgers. Theyre nearly ready.
Joe: Great. Im hungry. I ____________NOT HAVE anything to eat since breakfast.
Mum: _________Jenny__________DECIDE to come for supper or not?
Joe:
I dont know. I ___________TRY to phone her all afternoon, but her line
__________BE engaged.
Mum: No problem. I ___________MAKE enough food for six. Anyway, Im not very
hungry.
Joe: Why?
Mum: Because I _________EAT bits and pieces from the fridge all day!
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs:
9. If I ____________WIN the lottery, I _________never_________WORK again.
10.If Helen __________WIN a million pounds, she _____________GIVE some to charity.
11.It _____________BE amazing if Brad ______________PASS his driving test the first
time.
12.It ____________NOT SURPRISE me if Brazil _____________WIN the World Cup.
13.I _____________BUILD more schools if I _____________BE Prime Minister.
14.If they ____________OFFER me a job, I _____________TAKE it straightaway.
15.If I _____________GO to live in the USA, I ______________NOT WANT to live in
Los Angeles.
16.Surely she ______________NOT GO out with him unless she ______________LIKE
him!
Complete with the correct form of the verbs: past tense, present perfect, past
perfect (simple or continuous):
Four
men
once_______________DWELL
in
a
foreign
country.
They
_______________DEAL in cotton, which they_____________ SELL to Europeans
who_____________WEAVE it into cloth. People _____________KNOW them as Peter,
James, Terence and Archibald. One day an idea ______________STRIKE Peter, and he
____________TELL it to the others. As a result of the idea which
Peter________________BEGET they all ______________PUT their capital together and
_____________GO into partnership. First they_____________BUY a site. Then
they_______________BUILD a warehouse near the docks on part of it. Some time after
they ____________DO this, Peter_______________SPEAK to the others:
I_______________THINK it over, he _____________SAY, and my
meditations_____________BRING it home to me that though up to now
we______________BEAR the responsibilities of the firm jointly, the mistakes that one
man______________ KEEP making________________ COST us a lot.Archibalds
carelessness ______________ DRIVE me to desperation.

16

After he ______________EXPLAIN his idea further, the others ______________

CATCH what he ___________MEAN but_______________SHRINK from the solution
he____________SEEK to impose. But he____________WIN them round, and
they________________FALL in with his idea. So they________________TEAR UP the
old deed of partenership, and they _____________DRAW UP a new one. They
__________________SPLIT UP their responsibilities equally and each ______________
STRIVE to make the new business pay and the firm _________________THRIVE for a
while. But soon they ________________ BEGIN to have trouble with rats, which
_______________EAT the bales of cotton that the workmen _______________SEW UP
ready for export. So they ______________BUY a cat, ______________TAKE it to the
warehouse, __________________SHUT it and ________________LEAVE it there. When
it _____________TRY to escape, they _______________THRUST it back. Each partner
________________HOLD shares in the cat, one leg to each partner; and they
_______________FEED it by turns. Luckily it _____________EAT very little. One day
they ______________SEE that the cat _____________BE lame. A dog ________________
BITE it or somebody ______________TREAD on it and its leg _______________BLEED
and ________________SWELL. On consulting their books the partners
________________FIND that the leg which the cat _______________HURT
_______________ BE Terences. when Terence _________________LEARN this, he
________________TAKE the cat into the office, _______________ PUT it on the floor,
________________KNELL down, _________________WIND a rag soaked in oil round
the leg, and ______________BIND it carefully. The cat _________________FEEL cold; so
it _________________GO by the fire, where it ______________LIE down and
________________SLEEP. But it _______________CREEP to close, and the bandage
soaked in oil ______________CATCH fire. The cat ________________AWAKE terrorstricken,________________SIT UP, _______________ FLY into a panic,
_________________SPIN round, ________________RUN into the warehouse, and
_________________SET the cotton bales on fire with its blazing leg. A strong wind
_______________BLOW at the time so that the fire __________________ SPREAD and
the whole warehouse _________________BURST into flames. The fire-brigade
________________SPEED to the scene and _______________HACK and
_______________HEW to get into the burning building. But to no purpose. The building
_______________BURN too fast. Numberless rats ________________FLEE from it,
_________________SLIDE into the water, and _______________SWIM away. The
partners ________________LOOK ON helplessly; and their blood almost
________________ FREEZE in their veins, as they think what their fate
______________MAY _______________BE, if they _________________ CAUGHT
inside. The cat ______________BURST through the flames, ________________SPRING
into the street, _______________ SHAKE OFF the burning bandage, and
_______________RID itself of the trouble. The partners ________________CATCH and
________________SMITE the cat, which _______________DIG its claws into them,
and________________BREAK loose. They _________________FLING stones at it. It
________________STEAL off and ________________HIDE. They _________________
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SEEK it out, ________________FIND it and _______________SLAY it. After they

_______________SLAY the cat, the partners ________________REMEMBER again what
they ______________LOSE. They ______________TEAR their hair, ______________
REND
their
garments,
_________________BEAT
their
breasts,
__________________WRING their hands and _________________ SHED tears of rage.
Gradually, the first effects of the disaster ________________WEAR OFF, and they
________________ BEGIN to think what to do. Suddenly Peter _______________HIT ON
the solution of the problem of damages. He _________________SEND for Terence. They
_______________MEET
at
their
club.
I
_______________FORGET,
_____________SAY Peter, that it ____________BE your leg which ______________DO
the damage. You must therefore pay us damages. At this Terence ____________GROW
pale. Then he ______________KNIT his brows, ________________GRIND his teeth, and
________________ SWING his stick menacingly. When Peter _______________SEE the
reception he _______________GET he _______________ BE afraid to say any more and
_______________RETIRE hastily. He, James and Archie _______________MEET and
_______________ MAKE their decision. They _______________RING UP a lawyer for
legal advice. Then they _______________CLOTHE themselves in their Sunday best and
_______________BRING Terence before a judge. The judge _______________LEND
their lawyer attention for a while, but the latter_______________SPIN out the argument to
such a length, that in the end the judge ______________ CUT him short and
__________________CHIDE him for wasting the time of the court. Then he
_______________LAY down the law. Everybody _________________HANG on his
words. Poor Terence _______________CLING to the hope of success like a drowning man
to
a
straw
and
he
______________BE
justified,
for
the
judge
_________________OVERRIDE the plaintiffs charms. He _______________HEAR the
arguments which the plaintiffs lawyer _____________STRING out to such inordinate
length, he ______________SAY:
It _________________BE true that Terences leg ______________BE on fire,
he_____________GO ON. but it ____________BE also true that the other three legs
______________TAKE the flaming leg to the inflammable cotton-bales. Those three legs
and their owners _________________BEAR the burden of responsibility for the damage.
He therefore ______________ BID the three reimburse Terence for his loss. When Terence
_______________HEAR
this,
his
spirits
_____________RISE.
His
face
________________LIGHT up, and his heart_________________LEAP with joy, as he
__________________DRINK IN the judges words. The plaintiffs ________________FLY
into a rage and __________________PROTEST angrily, for the decision ____________
SPELL ruin to them. But the judge ________________SWEEP their protests aside, and
________________BESEECH them to obey the law. After Terences former associates
________________PAY him off, they________________GIVE UP the cotton trade, and
_______________SHOE horses for a living instead.

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