KEY

1. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

Tom Wilson 1) .... is.... (be) an explorer. He 2) …has been...(be) to nearly every country
in the world, but the most exciting time he 3) …has ever had…. (ever/have) was when he
4) …went… (go) to the Congo jungle. A magazine 5)…(had) asked… (ask) him to
retrace the route of a famous explorer who 6) …had disappeared…. (disappear) in the
1920's. As he 7) …was following….(follow) a small river he got separated from his guides.
He 8) ……went on…. (go on) alone, hoping he 9) …would find….. (find) them, but instead
he 10) …encountered… (encounter) a group of natives. He 11) …stayed.... (stay) with
them for several days and 12) ……found out.. (find out) that a very old woman
13) …had actually met…(actually/meet) the famous explorer. She 14) …knew… (know)
how he 15) ……had died….(die). Tom 16) ……became….(become) very friendly with the
natives and now he 17) …is planning… (plan) to go back and see them again. He is sure
they 18) …will welcome…..(welcome) him back.

2. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

When Francis Lee was a boy he 1) ....wanted..... (want) to be an astronaut. He

2) …was watching...(watch) TV one day in 1969 when he 3) ……saw…. (see) Neil
Armstrong walk on the moon. Since then he 4) …has always dreamt… (always/dream) of
doing the same. Every night when there is a full moon, he 5)…stares….. (stare) up at it for
hours and 6) …imagines... (imagine) himself walking around on it. At the moment,
however, he 7) …is working….(work) as a night-watchman at a meat factory. He 8) …has
been doing…. (do) the same job since he left school fifteen years ago, but he still hopes
that one day his dream 9) …will come... (come) true. He 10) …has heard…… (hear) that
in the 21st century they 11) …will sell/will be selling...... (sell) tickets to fly to the moon. For
this reason he 12) …has been saving...(save) half of his wages every month for the past
two years.

3. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

Sue Thomas is a fashion designer. She 1) ... has been making.... (make) clothes ever
since she 2) …was….(be) a young girl. She 3) …got…. (get) her first job in a clothes
factory when she was sixteen. She 4) …was sewing… (sew) buttons onto a shirt one
day when she 5)…had... (have) a brilliant idea for a design- After she 6) …had spoken….
(speak) to her bank manager, she got a loan and she 7) …opened...(open) her own little
workshop. Now she 8) …is making/makes…. (make) lots of money. Next year she 9) …is
opening/is going to open….. (open) a shop which will sell all her own designs. She 10)
…has sold/sells… (sell) clothes to a lot of famous people, including film stars and singers,
and she 11) …thinks.... (think) she will be very rich soon.

4. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

Kevin Adams 1)...loves....(love) trains. He first 2)....saw.....(see) one

when he was four years old and he 3) .....thought....(think) it was great. He 4)....goes....(go)
to a different railway station every week and 5)...writes down...(write down) the engine
number of every train he sees. He 6)....has been doing.....(do) this since he was eight. By
the time he was fifteen he 7).....had collected....(collect) over 10.000 different engine
numbers in various counties. Once, while he 8)...was standing....(stand) in a station in
Cheshire he saw something very unusual. He 9)....had been waiting.....(wait) for over an
hour for a train to go by when suddenly he 10)......saw....(see) a very old steam train
coming down the track. It 11)....didn’t stop.....(not/stop) at the station and, as it was
passing, Kevin noticed that all the passengers 12)...were wearing...(wear) old-fashioned
clothes. When he told the station guard about this, the poor man turned pale. He said that
no steam train 13)....has/had passed...(pass) through that station for years, and that the
last one 14).....had crashed...(crash), killing everyone on board.

5. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, scientists, politicians and theologians
1) .....have been discussing..... (discuss) the question of whether or not the cloning of human beings
2) .....should be allowed.....(should/allow). If cloning does become a reality one day, it
3) ...will raise....(raise) many questions. Many scientists want cloning 4)....to be....(be) legalised.
They believe that if it 5) .....were...(be) legal to clone human beings, it 6) .....would be..........(be)
possible to create a superior race. Many childless couples also wish the goverment 7).......would
allow....(allow) cloning. If this 8) ....were......(be) the only way for you to have a child, you might agree
with them too.

6. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

Sammy Milton 1) .... is not.... (not/be) very clever. He 2) …was walking...(walk) along the
beach one daywhen he 3) …tripped…. (trip) over something and 4) …fell… (fall) on the
sand. He 5)…wasn’t looking/hadn’t been looking….. (not/look) where he was going.
“What 6) …is…. (be) this?” he said, picking up the object he 7) …had tripped...(trip) over.
“I 8) …have never seen…. (never/see) anything like it before.” It was, in fact, a very old oil
lamp, and as he 9) …was rubbing... (rub) it, a genie suddenly 10) …flew… (fly) out of it.
“You 11) …have just released.... (just/release) me from the lamp!”, said the genie. “Now
you may have three wishes.” “Great!” said Sammy who12) …was feeling... (feel) very
thirsty. “I 13) …want…(want) a bottle of lemonade that never 14) …runs out…(run out).”
“No problem,” said the genie, and 15) …produced….(produce) one instantly. Sammy
picked up the bottle and16) …drank...(drink) all the lemonade in one go. Magically, the
bottle 17) …filled… (fill) itself up again. Sammy drank all that, and exactly the same thing
18) …happened...(happen) again. “That’s amazing!” he said. “Thanks very much!” “You
still 19) ....have... (have) two more wishes young man.” “That’s easy, “said Sammy. “I 20)
....’ll have...(have) two more of these bottles of lemonade!”.

7. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

One day a little Indian boy 1) .... was sitting.... (sit) outside his wigwam. He 2) …was
wondering...(wonder) how the Indians 3) …choose/chose…. (choose) their children’s
names. He 4) …decided… (decide) to go and ask the Indian Chief. “Well,” 5)…explained..
(explain) the Chief, “we 6) …love…. (love) nature and when a new baby 7) …is...(be)
born, we 8) …look…. (look) around and we 9) …choose... (choose) a name from what
we10) …see… (see), like Flowing Waterfall, Bright Star, Running Bull and so on. 11)
…Do you understand..... (you/understand)?” “Yes, chief”, the little Indian boy said. “Why
12) …are you.. (you/be) so intered in this, Two Dogs Fighting?”, the Chief asked.

8. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

One afternoon, while I 1).....was walking.....(walk) in town, I 2).....saw... (see) a poster for a
liquor promotion at a club I 3) ...used to go....(used to, go) to. They 4) ....were
advertising.....(advertise) a “vodka disco”. Later that week, my friend and I
5)...decided....(decide) to go to this club to find out what 6) ....was going on.....(go on). It was
a “drink-as-much-vodka-as-you-can” evening, with music and prizes for the best dancers.
After we 7).... entered.....(enter) the club, a man 8) .....gave... (give) each of us a T-shirt and
a badge in the shape of a vodka bottle. To my surprise , all the drinks 9)......were....(be) free.
We 10) ....didn’t drink..... (not drink) very much at all –one vodka each- but other young
people 11)....had been drinking...... (drink) heavily all evening. Some of the dancers 12)
....looked.........(look) quite drunk.
We all know that companies 13) ....try/ are trying......(try) to sell us their products and they
14) ...use/will use... (use) almost any means possible to encourage us to spend our money.
15) ....Does this mean....... (this, mean) they can convince us to buy anything? Even things
that are bad for us?
Think about it! The last time you 16) ......bought......(buy) an alcoholic drink, 17).....was
it.....(it, be) because you really wanted it, or because an ad persuaded you to do so?

9. Fill in the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

I 1. ...have been.... (be) a fan of soap operas for years. I 2. .....always watch...... (always
watch) my favourite show three times a week. In fact, until about a week ago, I 3. ....had
never missed...... (never / miss) a single episode. Last Saturday, while I
4. ...was sitting..... (sit) in front of the TV, the electricity suddenly 5......went off...... (go off).
After waiting for about an hour, I finally phoned the telephone company. “What 6. ..(has)
happened...... (happen)?” I asked them. “When 7. ...shall/will we have...... (we / have)
electricity again?” The man I spoke to said it 8. ..would take..... (take) a while to fix the
problem. So I 9. ...didn’t watch..... (not watch) my favourite soap opera that day. Strangely
enough, I 10. ...haven’t watched..... (not watch) it since. Suddenly, there are so many other
things to do!

10. Complete the passage with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

Goldilocks is probably the most famous and most charming “squatter” of all times.
While the Bear family.....was looking... (look) for breakfast, Goldilocks ......broke into.....
(break into) their house and ......made....(make) herself at home. The first thing she
......saw... (see) when she .......had entered....(enter) the house was food on the table.
This made her happy because she ....had been walking.... (walk) in the woods for several
hours and was very hungry. Goldilocks immediately .......sat down... (sit down) at the
table to eat. When she .....(had) finished....(finish) the meal, she .........felt......(feel) very
tired and .....decided... (decide) to look for a confortable place to rest.
By the time the bears .......returned.... (return) from their hunt, Goldilocks .....had
already left... (already leave). To this day they do not know who the “squatter” was.