I YEAR PRACTICAL GRAMMAR TENSE FORMS
Put the verbs in brackets in the correct past forms.
1. Last year, Tom and Fiona _________ (decide) to buy a house. They _________ (save up) for ages, and by the end of May they __________ (put by) enough for the deposit on a house. They _________ (live) in a tiny flat at the time and Fiona _________ (insist) that she _________ (want) a house with a big garden. They ________ (search) for a few days when they found exactly what they _________ (look for) - a two-bedroomed house in nearly an acre of garden. Unfortunately the owner ________ (ask) much more than they _______ (be) willing to pay, and when they ________ (look) closer at the interior, they ________ (see) that whoever ________ (live) there before , _________ (make) an absolute mess of the walls and floors. Still Fiona _______ (like) the garden and the location so much that she ________ (manage) to convince Tom that, despite the price, it _________ (be) the perfect house for them.
Last summer some friends and I ________ (arrange) to go camping. We _______ (look) forward to going for weeks when finally the date of departure ________(arrive). We ________ (load) the car with our luggage and _______ (set off) early in the morning. The weather was perfect, the sun ________ (shine) brightly and the wind ______ (blow) gently. There ________ (not/be) a cloud in the sky. Shortly afterwards, while we _______ (travel) along the motorway, we _______(notice) that the car ________ (make) a strange noise. Pete, who ________(drive) very fast, suddenly _______ (stop) the car. Everyone _______ (get out) and ________ (go) round to the back of the car. To our surprise the boot was wide open - whoever ________ (load) the luggage ________(not/close) it properly, and everything ________ (fall out)!
Jim ___________________ (not look) forward to the exam. He _________________ (study) for the past two months, and still __________________ (not feel) sure that he _________________ (know) even half of what he should know. He _________________ (question) his teachers repeatedly about the material that _________________ (appear) on past exams, but he still wasn't convinced that anything he ___________________ (learn) ___________________ (be) relevant to this year's exam; he _________________ (revise) all night long, and __________________ (feel) exhausted. In fact he __________________ (be) so tired that he ________________ (fall) asleep in the middle of writing the exam, and ___________________ (wake) just in time to finish it.
Put the verbs in brackets in the correct present forms.
Dear John,
First of all, sorry I ________ (not/write) for so long, but I was on holiday.
_______(you / get) your exam results yet? I'm sure you _________ (pass) them all since you always _______ (study) so hard. I _______ (wait) for mine at the moment and I ________ (try) not to worry!. Well, I _______ (write) from my new flat. Yes, I ________ (move) the house! Now we ________ (paint) and _______ (clean) the place to make it look nice. When it's finished, I'm going to have a party because I _______ (not/see) you for weeks I _______ (want) you to come. Write soon and let me know if I'll see you there. Love, Mary.
Susan _________________ (study) interior design part time for three years and she __________________ (get) her diploma next month. Since she __________________ (work) for the same company for over ten years she __________________ (feel) that she __________________ (need) a change, so she __________________ (plan) to open her own design business. She already __________________ (start) looking for a new office, and she ____________________ (hope) she __________________ (find) something in a good location and for a reasonable price.
Alan ________ (fly) to Barcelona tonight. He _______ (already pack) his suitcase but he ________ (not/call) a taxi yet. His plane _______ (leave) ate 8 o'clock.
Ann and Sally ________ (be) flatmates. They sometimes _______ (argue) because Sally _______ (always/make) a mess in the kitchen.
Look over there! It's John. But he _______ (look) so different! He _______ (put on) at least 15 kilos and I _______(think) he _______ (wear) a toupee!
Ever since the accident Susan _______(be) afraid to drive. Next week she ________ (see) a psychologist who _______ (specialize) in that sort of problem.
What a great match! Johnson ________ (pass) the ball to Green, who _______ (shoot).
`What on earth _______ (you/do)? Your clothes are all dirty!' `Well, I _______(work) in the garden all day. Look, I _______(already/plant) a lot of flowers. I _______ (plan) to mow the grass now.
III. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in bold and so that the meaning stays the same.
1. It's a week since I last saw him. for
I _________________________________________ a week.
2. How long is it since he wrote his last novel?
When ___________________________________his leg?
3. When did she move to France? since
How long ________________________________________ to France.
4. They started learning computing two months ago. been
They _______________________________________ two months.
5. They started eating as soon as the last guests arrived. had
They waited until ___________________________________________ they started eating.
6. The last time he visited her was a week ago. for
He __________________________________________ a week.
7. I haven't called Ted for a long time. since
It's ____________________________________________ Ted.
8. He has been working here for six months. started
He ________________________________________________ ago.
9. Today is Liz and John's thirtieth wedding anniversary. for
Liz and John _______________________________________ .
10. Cathy has not been on holiday with her sister before. first
It ______________________________________________ sister.
11. Whose watch is it? belong
Who ______________________________________ .
When I was a child I didn't have any pets. use
When I was a child _____________________________________________.
IV. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense.
David _______ (think) about getting a new job.
Your hand luggage _______ (weigh) too much.
_______________ (you/enjoy) your stay here?
First you _____ (roll) you the pastry, then you ____ (put) it into the fridge for an hour.
…At the end of the last chapter she _______ (realize) that her hatred had caused the deaths of the lovers…
What ______ (say) on this notice?
I ______ (sell) this car. Do you want to buy it?
Please be quiet! You ______ (continually interrupt).
Pay no attention to Graham. He _____(be) sarcastic again.
______ (you/hear) anything from Jane these days?
While I ____________________ (drink) my coffee, the phone ______ (ring).
When Jane was at school, she ______ (always/lose) things.
By the time I _______ get to the station, the train _______ (leave).
I _______ (live) in a bed-sitter up to then.
The kitchen was in a mess. It was obvious that someone ______ (cook) there and ______ (not bother) to clean it up.
I realized that someone ______ (steal) my wallet when I ______ (feel) their hand in my pocket.
I ____ (iron) my shirts this morning.
I ______ (take) French lessons this year.
I _______ (clean) the house but I still ______ (not/finish).
They ______ (wait) outside your house till half past eight.
Lately your work _______ (improve).
She _______ (buy) a CD player last week and she ______ (listen) ever since.