Poslovni engleski jezik - Present and past tenses

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