English Tenses – Revision Present and Past Tenses

1. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple present or present
progressive)

1. Look! Sara (go) is going to the movies.

2. On her right hand, Sara (carry) is carrying her handbag.
3.The handbag (be) is very beautiful.
4. Sara usually (put) puts on black shoes but now she (wear) is wearing
white trainers.
5. And look, she (take) is taking an umbrella because it (rain) is raining.

2. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or past perfect)

1. When he (wake up) woke up, his mother had already prepared
(already /prepare) breakfast.
2. We (go) went to London because our friends (invite) had invited us.
3. He (hear) heard the news, (go) went to the telephone and (call)
called a friend.
4. When she (start) started learning English she (already /learn) had
already learnt French.
5. Jane (already / type) had already typed three pages when her
computer (crash) crashed.
6. By the time the doctor (arrive) arrived at the house the patient (die)
had died.
7. Before that day we (never / think) had never thought of traveling to
Japan.
8. I (know) had known him a long time before I (meet) met his family.
9. They (not / know) didn’t know where to meet because nobody (tell)
told them
10. It (be) had been cloudy for days before it (begin) began to rain.

3. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or present
perfect).

1. I (just / finish) have just finished my homework.

2. Mary (already / write) has already written five letters.
3. Tom (move) moved to his home town in 1994.
4. My friend (be) was in Canada two years ago.
5. I (not / be) have not been to Canada so far.
6. But I (already / travel) have already traveled to London a couple of
times.
7. Last week, Mary and Paul (go) went to the cinema.
8. I can't take any pictures because I (not /buy) haven’t bought a new
film yet.
9. (they / spend) Did they spend their holidays in Paris last summer?
10. (you / ever / see ) Have you ever seen a whale?

4. Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past
Progressive).

1. The receptionist (welcome) welcomed the guests and (ask) asked

them to fill in the form.
2. The car (break) broke down and we (have) had to walk home.
3. The boys (swim) were swimming while the girls (sunbath) were
sunbathing.
4. My father (come) came in, (look) looked and (tell) told me to tidy up
my room
5. While one group (prepare) were preparing dinner the others (collect)
were collecting wood for the campfire
6. While the parents (have) were having breakfast the children (run)
were running about.
7. Martha (turn) turned off the light and (go) went to bed.

5. Put the verbs into the correct tense:

1. When Carol (call) called last night, I (watch) was watching my

favorite show on television.
2. I (work) have been working for this company for more than thirty
years, and I intend to stay here until I retire.
3. Sharon (love) loves to travel. She (go) goes abroad almost every
summer. Next year, she plans to go to Peru.
4. Thomas is an author. He (write) writes mystery novels and travel
memoirs. He (write) has been writing since he was twenty-eight.
Altogether, he (write) has written seven novels, three collections of
short stories and a book of poetry.
5. We were late because we had some car problems. By the time we
(get) got to the train station, Susan (wait) had been waiting for us for
more than two hours.
6. Sam (try) was trying to change a light bulb when he (slip) slipped and
(fell) fell.
7. Everyday I (wake) wake up at 6 o'clock, (eat) eat breakfast at 7
o'clock and (leave) leave for work at 8 o'clock. However, this morning I
(get) got up at 6:30, (skip) skipped breakfast and (leave) left for work
late because I (forget) forgot to set my alarm.
8. Right now, Jim (read) is reading the newspaper and Kathy (make) is
making dinner. Last night at this time, they (do) were doing the same
thing. She (cook) was cooking and he (read) was reading the
newspaper. Tomorrow at this time, they (do, also) will also be doing
the same thing. She (prepare) will be preparing dinner and he (read)
will be reading. They are very predictable people!
9. Jane talks on the phone. Bob has been talking on the phone for an
hour. Mary is talking on the phone. Who is not necessarily on the
phone now? Jane
10. Jane left when Tim arrived. Bob left when Tim had arrived. When
Tim arrived, Mary was leaving. John had left when Tim arrived. After
Tim arrived, Frank left. Who did not run into Tim?
11. Jane is talking in class. Bob always talks in class. Mary is always
talking in class. Whose action bothers you? Mary
12. Jane never left Jamestown. Bob has never left Jamestown. Who is
still alive? Bob

6. Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Simple, or Past Perfect

Continuous? Complete the sentences with the correct form of the
verb in brackets.

1. This time last year I was living (live) in Malaysia. While I was
travelling (travel) to work this morning I witnessed (witness) a terrible
car crash.
2. The pilot were having (have) problems with the engines and so they
couldn't take off again until checks had been made.
3. It was only after she had read (read) the letter twice that she started
(start) crying.
4. Her eyes were tired because she had been sitting (sit) at her
computer all day.
5. When I arrived (arrive) at work yesterday I realized that I had left
(leave) my presentation on the train.
6. I woke up (wake up) this morning with a terrible headache

7. Put the verbs in brackets in the appropriate tense:

I was walking (walk) along the main street one day when I suddenly
saw (see) something strange: a man I had never seen (see) before, the
same height as me who had (have) a beard just like mine was crossing
(cross) the street a few steps from me, coming to my direction. He
passed (pass) by me and I froze (freeze) amazed. He was wearing
(wear) a blue shirt and a dark suit and he was carrying (carry) a
suitcase. I turned (turn) around and followed him. I was walking
behind him, (walk) thinking (think) whether or not to stop him and ask
him if he had noticed (notice) the resemblance. Suddenly he turned
(turn) and as I was staring (stare) at him he said: you're my double,
aren't you?

8. Put the verbs in brackets in the appropriate tense:

1. In 1998, John visited (visit) Tahiti with a group of friends.

2. This month Tom has been revising (revise) for his exams.
3. Julie is at the cinema waiting for Tom. She has been waiting (wait)
for 10 minutes.
4. Marie only has half an hour for lunch so she usually has (have) a
sandwich.
5. David is a good friend of mine. I have known (know) him since I was
six years old.
6. At the moment I need to concentrate. I am doing (do) a grammar
exercise.
7. Tom is writing an important report. He has written (write) 4 pages
already.
8. Once a month Caroline goes (go) to the hairdresser's to have her hair
cut.
9. Last year Peter travelled (travel) all over Australia.
10. Next Saturday, Peter will take (take) Caroline to the theatre.
9. Fill the gaps with the correct tenses.

1. I (learn) have been learning English for seven years now.

2. But last year I (not / work) didn’t work hard enough for English,
that's why my marks (not / be) were not really that good then.
3. As I (pass / want) want to pass my English exam successfully next
year, I (study) will study harder this term.
4. During my last summer holidays, my parents (send) sent me on a
language course to London.
5. It (be) will be great and I (think) think I (learn) will learn a lot.
6. Before I (go) went to London, I (not / enjoy) didn’t enjoy learning
English.
7. But while I (do) was doing the language course, I (meet) met lots of
young people from all over the world.
8. There I (notice) noticed how important it (be) is to speak foreign
languages nowadays.
9. Now I (have) have much more fun learning English than I (have) was
having before the course.
10. At the moment I (revise) am revising English grammar.
11. And I (begin / already) have already began to read the texts in my
English textbooks again.
12. I (think) think I (do) will do one unit every week.
13. My exam (be) will be on 15 May, so there (not / be) isn’t any time
to be lost.
14. If I (pass) pass my exams successfully, I (start) will start an
apprenticeship in September.
15. And after my apprenticeship, maybe I (go) will go back to London to
work there for a while.
16. As you (see / can) can see, I (become) have become a real London
fan already.

10. Fill the gaps with the correct tenses.

1. Bewley's (be) is an old Irish tea house chain.

2. The history of the famous Bewley's Oriental Cafés (begin) began in
1835 when Charles Bewley (import) imported over 2000 chests of tea
directly from the Chinese province of Canton to Dublin.
3. It (not / look) didn’t look like a great deal today, but back then it (be)
was a coup: no man before (dare) dared to import tea directly into
Ireland.
4. Bewley's initiative (put) put an end to the East India Trading
Company's tea monopoly which before 1835 (force) was forcing the
Irish to import their tea from London.
5. Samuel Bewley's son Joshua also (become) became a tea merchant.
6. Like his father, he (import) was importing tea into Ireland.
7. The Irish (like) liked the idea of not having to import old tea from
London.
8. A tea expert (notice) noticed that even the poorest Irish people (buy)
were buying only the finest tea.
9. By the end of the 19th century a tea culture (develop) had
developed in Ireland.
10. In 1894, Joshua's son Ernest Bewley (want) wanted to stimulate the
market for a product that (be) was rather unknown that far: coffee.
11. In the back of his shop in Dublin's George's Street, he (begin) began
to run coffee making demonstrations.
12. His wife (bake) baked scones to go with the coffee, and the couple
soon (find out) found out that their idea (be) was extremely popular
among customers.
13. That (mark) marked the beginning of the first Bewley's Oriental
Café.
14. In Dublin's Grafton Street, Ernest Bewley (open) opened another
Bewley's Oriental Café in 1927, on which he (spend) had spent nearly
60,000 Pound.
15. Still now the interior furnishings and wonderful stain glass (provide)
provide a very special oriental flair.
16. During World War II, Bewley's (must restrict) had to restrict the
supply of tea to an ounce per head, and many customers (switch)
switched to coffee.
17. Today, Bewley's (be) is Ireland's leading supplier of quality coffees
and teas
18. It (create) created a catering service for larger customers such as
Trinity College and it (open) opened cafés in book stores and Dublin
Airport.
19. Bewley's Clipper Gold Tea and Espresso Prima (win) won Gold
Awards in the London Great Taste Awards.