Present Simple/Present
Continuous
I
a) I haven't decided yet
about whether to buy a new car or a second-hand one. But I think about
it/I'm thinking about it.
b) All right, you try to
fix the television! But I hope/I'm hoping you know what you're
doing.
c) Every year I
visit/I'm visiting Britain to improve my English.
d) It's time we turned
on the central heating. It gets/It's getting colder every day.
e) Of course, you're
Mary, aren't you! I recognize/I am recognizing you now.
f) The film of
'War and Peace' is very long. It lasts/It is lasting over four
hours.
g) I can see from what
you say that your mornings are very busy! But what do you do/are you
doing in the afternoons?
h) I'm going to buy a
new swimming costume. My old one doesn't fit/isn't fitting any
more.
i) That must be
the end of the first part of the performance. What happens/is happening now?
II
a) British people
(drink) more and more wine, apparently. are drinking
b) I hope Sarah will be
here soon. I (depend) on her. depend
c) Please be quiet,
David. You (forever/interrupt). are forever interrupting
d) Hey, you! What
(you/think) you're doing? do you think
e) Could you come here
please? I (want) to talk to you now. want
f) Jane is away on
holiday so Linda (handle) her work. is handling
g) To be honest, I
(doubt) whether Jim will be here next week. doubt
h) You've only just
started the job, haven't you? How (you/get on)? are you getting on
i) Pay no attention to
Graham. He (just/be) sarcastic. is just being
Present Perfect Simple/ Present Perfect Continuous
I
1. I (write) twenty emails so far today. have written
2. I (write) emails all day. I'm exhausted. have been writing
3. I (only/live) in the area for a month. I don't know anyone yet. have lived
4. John's disappeared. Does anyone know what (happen) to him? has happened
5. Have you heard? Tom (break) his leg. has broken
6. I (try) to call you all day. Why didn't you answer the phone? have been trying
7. Why are you out of breath? (you/run)? Have you been running
8. My aunt is ill again. She (be) in hospital five times in the last two years. has been
9. You're soaking wet. How long (you/stand) here? have you been standing
10. Who (eat) my biscuits? Half the packet is gone! has been eating
II
1. I (paint) this room for five days now.
It's a never-ending job. have been painting
2. How long (you/know) Mike? have you known
3. I (had) this watch for twenty years.
It's as accurate as it was the day I bought it. have had
4. I (never/be) to Sweden. have never been
5. How long (you/live) in this house? have you lived/have you been living
6. Hi, John. Sorry I'm late. I hope you
(not/wait) long. haven't been waiting
7. So, Michael, what (you/do) since I last
saw you? Anything interesting? have you been doing
8. It (rain) all day today. has been raining
9. This strategy seems to be good. Sales
of our products (increase) for some time. have been increasing
10. The manager (visit) our branch office
three times so far this year.has visited
III
1. The company is huge. It (create) a
thousand new jobs since the beginning of last year. has created
2. We (produce) this product since
the beginning of the year. have been producing
3. I (had) this car for twenty years and
it's as reliable as ever. have had
4. I'm afraid the company is going
bankrupt. It (have) big problems lately. has been having/ has had
5. So, what (you/do) since I last saw you?
What's new? have you been doing
6. How many of these questions
(you/manage) to get right so far? have you managed
7. I'm a bit worried about Malcolm. He
(act) very strange of late.has been acting
8. He's an awful driver. He (have) four
accidents in the last three months. has had
9. (you/send) us the new price list of
your products yet? We need it as soon as possible. Have you sent
10. I (try) to repair the lock on our door
for the last four hours without any success. have been trying
Past
Simple/Past Continuous
1. I used my time well while I
(wait) for my plane - I wrote some emails. was waiting
2. I (not/work) when my boss walked
in my office. was not working
3. When I (wait) for the taxi, I saw
two car crashes. was waiting
4. Tom (have) long hair and a beard
when he was at university. had
5. It started snowing while I
(drive) to work. was driving
6. What (you/do) this time last
year? were you doing
7. I (not/call) you at 9 o'clock as
arranged because I was having a meeting. didn't call
8. I (still/sleep) when my wife left
for work this morning was still sleeping
9. Why did you bring your umbrella?
(it/rain) when you left home? Was it raining
Past
Simple/Past Perfect
1. I got home and found that someone
(try) to break into the house. had tried
2. I celebrated last Friday night
because I (pass) my exams the day before. had passed
3. I saw a bad accident on my way
here. Two cars (crash) on the crossroads.had crashed
4. I got to the cinema and a minute
later the film (start). started
5. I (go) to Ireland in 2008 and
then to Sweden in 2009. went
6. When I married Helena in 2007, I
(be) married three times before. had been
7. I got to the cinema and saw that
the film (already/start) had already started
8. While I was away on holiday, my
sister (fall) ill and I had to
come home. had fallen
9. There was a terrible atmosphere
in the room. They (have) an argument just before I came. had had
10. She (be) a teacher before she
became a journalist.
11. I gave my friend directions to
my house, but later realized that I (forgot) to give her the exact address. had forgotten
12. I got to work this morning and
was angry when I saw that no one (arrive) yet. had arrived
13. He awoke thinking he was in a
prison and that he'd been arrested for robbery. He then realized that it
(all/be) just a bad dream. had all been
14. Michael had a black eye. It
looked as if he (be) in a fight. had been
Past
Perfect Simple/Continuous
1. It was a relief to find the
documents. I (look) for them all afternoon. had been looking
2. He was dismissed, even though, in
his opinion, he (not/do) anything wrong. had not done
3. It was not the first time I'd met
him. We (meet) many times before. had met
4. He called me at eleven in the
evening to tell me that he (find/finally) a solution. had finally found
5. When he (finish) his speech, he waited
for the reaction of the audience. But no one said a word. had finished
6. By the time I came back from my
business trip, a lot of things (changed). had changed
7. The doctor asked me how long I
(have) the symptoms. had I had
8. It was more than a month before
we realized what (happen) to him. had happened
9. We (work/already) on this
project for a month before we found a fundamental flaw. had already been working
10. The invoice (not/arrive/still)
by the end of the week so we sent them a strong reminder. hadn't still arrived