VERB TENSES.

1. Put the verbs in brackets in the PRESENT SIMPLE or the PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Liz
Riz ................................... (work) for a year on a Greenpeace ship in the
Mediterranean.
They
..........................................
(check)
the
pollution
levels.
Liz ................................. (write) a letter to her mother.
Dear Mum,
,,, I .................................. ( write) this letter in my cabin. The seas quite rough at
the
moment
and
I
.................................
(find)
it
difficult
to
write!
I ........................................... (usually/get) about two hours free time a day and
I ......................................... (often/write) letters or ................................... (read) a book
( or I
sometimes ....................................... (not/do) anything at all I just ...............................
(sleep)!) I ......................... (read) a book about the history of Greenpeace at the moment.
Greenpeace
workers .................................... (come) from all over the world but,
fortunately, everybody on this ship ................................... (speak) English.
At the moment I ................................... (work) with Thor Svensen, a Norwegian
marine
biologist.
We
......................................
(take)
water
samples
and ..................................... (analyse) them. Thor ................................ (work) at Oslo
University but he .....................................(work) for Greenpeace for a year.
I ............................... (think) this is the best job Ive ever had.
I .................................. (want) to do it for another year. I ............................... (like) the
people on the ship and I ................................. (know) we .............................. (do) a useful
job. I ............................... (love) life at sea. I ......................................... (look) really
healthy. The ship .................................. (have) very little fresh water and
I ..................................... (be) extravagant at the moment washing three times a day! Id
like a shower, but the ship .................................. (not/have) showers. But
I ................................... (have) a great time. Ill finish my letter now because
I ............................... (not/feel) well. The ship .................................. (roll) a lot. In fact,
I .................................. (feel) a bit sick. I ................................... (think) of you and
I ............................ (miss) you a lot.
2. Put the verbs in this dialogue in the PAST SIMPLE or the PAST CONTINUOUS
A detective is interviewing Mrs. Garfield about a bank robbery.
Detective: What ................................................... (you/do) at 10.30, at the time of the
robbery?
Mrs. Garfield: I ...................................... (walk) along king Street.
D: .................................. (you/go) to the bank?
Mrs. G.: No, I ......................... I .................................... (go) to the post office.
There ...................................... (be) a lot of other people in the street.
They ................................................ (just/do) their shopping.
D: What .......................................................... (the robbers/wear)?
Mrs. G: They ............................................ (wear) jeans and dark sweaters.
D: What ................................................. (you/do) when you .................................. (see)
them?
Mrs. G.: I ................................................. (stand) outside the post office.
I ..................................... (look) in my bag for my letters when I ...................................
(hear) a shout. Then I ................................. (see) them run out of the bank.
D: And what ................................................. (you/do) when you ....................................
(see) them?
Mrs. G: I .......................................... (just/stop) . I ............................................. (not/try)
to do anything because one of them .................................................... (carry) a gun.

They ............................................. (run) past me and ..................................... (jump)

into
a
car
and
............................................
(wait)
near
the
bus-stop.
People ................................................. (shout) and ...............................................
(scream). The manager ........................................... (rush) out of the bank
and ................................... (run) towards the car, but it .............................. (be) too
late. He .................................... (cannot) stop them.

3. Put the verbs in the PRESENT PERFECT (SIMPLE or CONTINUOUS) or SIMPLE

PAST
Dear Eileen,
I hope things are OK with you. The doctor .................................. (come)
yesterday. He .................................... (not/like) my cough. I ........................................
(lie) in bed looking at the ceiling since Tuesday, and I can tell you. Im fed up with it.
I ..................................... (never/be) ill like this before dont know whats happening
to me. And the weather is terrible. It ............................................ (rain) all day, and I
cant even have a cup of tea to cheer myself up because the
milkman ............................................... (not/come) this morning. I dont know why
Im sure I (pay) his bill.
Alice ........................................... (get) married last week, so now all Marys
kids .................................... (leave) home. She wont know what do do with herself, will
she?
Lucy Watson ................................... (move) to Doncaster. Since
Fred .................................... (die), she ,........................................ (be) all alone.
It
...................................
(be)
a
heart
attack,
apparently.
Im
sorry
she ......................................... (go) we ...................................... (be) neighbours for
over thirty years, and she ....................................... (always/be) friendly and ready to
help out.
Amy ................................... (leave). My cleaning lady, do you remember?
Im glad. She .............................. (not/be) much use and I ..................................
(not/trust)
her
since
she
.............................
(break)
all
those
plates
and ....................................... (say) it had been the cat.
There ....................................... (not/be) much change in the village. Some
new people....................................... (take) over the shop. They seem quite nice . I
hope theyre more efficient than old Joe.
4. Put the verbs into the right FUTURE TENSE
A: What ....................................................... (you/do) tonight?
b: I ................................................ (try) to
finish my homework
because
I ................................... (go) to my cousins wedding on Saturday
and
I .............................................. (not/be able) to do it then.
a: What time ................................................. (the wedding/start) on Saturday?
b: The ceremony .......................................... (begin) at two oclock. Then
I ................................... (go) to the party in the evening.
a: ....................................................... (any of your friends/be) there?
b: Well, my cousin says I can bring a friend. ................................................. (you/do)
anything on Saturday night?
a: No, but I ............................................... (feel) shy if I dont know anyone.

b: Never
mind. It ........................................
you ...................................... (have) a great time.
a: OK, then. Thanks very much.

(be)

big

party

and

Im

sure