TENSES PRACTICE (EXERCISES ON TENSES)

TENSES PRACTICE                                    BAC LEVEL            MR. H. ELMUSTAPHA

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ANSWER IN A COMMENT. YOUR ANSWERS WILL BE CORRECTED SOON.

EXERCISE A

1. When I (arrive) ……………… home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) …………………………………. a beautiful candlelight dinner.
2. Since I began acting, I (perform) ………………………….. in two plays, a television commercial and a TV drama.

3. By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) ………………………… without me. My boss (be)…………. angry with me and I (be)……….. fired.
4. When I (turn) …………….. the radio on yesterday, I (hear) …………. a song that was popular when I was in high school. I (hear, not) …………………………………. the song for years, and it (bring) ………………………… back some great memories.

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

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

7. Sara (love) ……………. to travel. She (go) …………… abroad almost every summer. Next year, she plans to go to Peru.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Janet (try) ……………………….... to change his clothes when the  light (go) ………………..off.

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

12. 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. 

EXERCISE B

13-You look really great! (you, work) …………………………… out at the fitness center recently?

14. A: What (you, do) ……………………….. when the accident occurred?

B: I (try) ………………… to change a light bulb that had burnt out.

15. I (have) …………………… the same car for more than ten years. I'm thinking about buying a new one.

16. If it (snow) ……………. this weekend, we (go) ……………….. skiing near Lake Tahoe.

17. A: What do you call people who work in libraries?

B: They (be, call) …………… librarians.

18. I came to England six months ago. I started my economics course three months ago. When I return to Australia, I (study) ………………….for nine months and I (be) ……………………….in England for exactly one year.

19. Sam (arrive) …………….. in San Diego a week ago.

20. Samantha (live) ………………………….in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she (live) ………………..there when the Berlin wall came down.

21. If Vera (keep) …………………… drinking, she (lose, eventually) ……………………….. her job.

22. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan; however, their culture (disappear, virtually) ……………………………. by the time Europeans first (arrive) …………. in the New World.

23. Shhhhh! Be quiet! John (sleep) …………………..

24. It (rain) ………………………….. all week. I hope it stops by Saturday because I want to go to the beach.

25. Listen Donna, I don't care if you (miss) ……………….. the bus this morning. You (be) ………………..late to work too many times. You are fired!

26. I am sick of rain and bad weather! Hopefully, when we (wake) ………… up tomorrow morning, the sun (shine) ……………….

27. I have not traveled much yet; however, I (visit) ………………….. the Grand Canyon and San Francisco by the time I leave the United States.

28. I (see) ……………………. many pictures of the pyramids before I went to Egypt. Pictures of the monuments are very misleading. The pyramids are actually quite small.

29. In the last hundred years, traveling (become) ……………………much easier and very comfortable. In the 19th century, it (take) ………………. two or three months to cross North America by covered wagon. The trip (be) …………. very rough and often dangerous. Things (change) ………………. a great deal in the last hundred and fifty years. Now you can fly from New York to Los Angeles in a matter of hours.

30. Joseph's English (improve, really) ………………………….., isn't it? He (watch) ………………………… American television programs and (study) …………….. his grammar every day since he first arrived in San Diego. Soon he will be totally fluent.

31. If you (need) ……………………….. to contact me sometime next week, I (stay) …………………………. at the Sheraton in San Francisco.