PAST TENSES

Exercise 1:
1. She never ___ to eat soup.
A) didn’t like B) like C) had liked D) liked
2. “I’ll drink tea from this tin mug.”
“Where ___ you ___ it?”
A) did / find B) do / find C) did / found D) were / found
3. It was dark and cold. At one moment he thought that he ___ his way.
A) lost B) will lose C) had lost D) loses
4. I didn’t know anyone in the city where I ___ to get a job.
A) did try B) was trying C) would try D) have tried
5. - Why ___ you go to the plant? - I ___ no time.
A) do / had B) will / have C) didn’t / hadn’t D) didn’t / had
6. A policeman ___ me crossing the street yesterday.
A) seen B) saw C) has seen D) will see E) had seen
7. Arthur ___ all his exams by 5 o’clock yesterday.
A) passed B) passes C) has passed D) has been passed E) had passed
8. He evidently ___ his shoes for a very long time. They were worn-out.
A) were wearing B) are wearing C) had been wearing D) was wearing E) had been worn
9. So, the invisible man ___ into the shop and ___ down.
A) comes/walked B) didn’t come/walk C) came/walked D) will come/walked
E) comes/would walk
10. - We were at the theatre 2 days ago. The performance was excellent.
- Who ___ the leading part?
A) did play B) play C) played D) would play E) has played
11. One day the boys found a man in the forest. He ___
A) will die B) had been dying C) had died D) was dying E) die
12. His father ___ a doctor and he ___ to make his son a doctor, too.
A) was/wants B) were/wanted C) will be/would want D) was/wanted E) were/wanted
13. During his school years Cronin ___ great interest in literature.
A) take B) took C) has taken D) had taken E) would take
14. He ___ the box yesterday, because he had to do it.
A) would open B) had opening C) have opened D) opens E) opened
15. While the gentlemen ___ the recent events, the ladies ___ about the weather.
A) discuss/talk B) are discussing/was talking C) being discussed/being talked
D) were discussing/were talking E) have discussed/have talked
16. She ___ you a letter three weeks ago.
A) had sent B) has sent C) sent D) send E) was sending
17. When he ___ home I ___ him the book.
A) came /shall show B) comes/showed C) has come/has shown
D) came/showed E) was coming/shall show
18. They ___ breakfast at 7 and ___ home at eight.
A) have/left B) had/left C) had/leave D) have/leaves E) had/had left
19. Long ago people ___ little about those minerals.
A) had known B) knowed C) will know D) knew E) have known
20. The dentist ___ two of his teeth. One of them ___ quite good.
A) pulls out/are B) pull out/was C) pulled out/was D) pull out/was E) pulled out/were
21. The plane ___ at 4 and it ___ us 20 minutes to get there.
A) was landing/was taking B) was landing/took C) landed/took
D) lands/was taken E) has landed/is taking
22. We ___ the station by 5 o’clock yesterday.
A) shall reach B) were reaching C) had reached D) reached E) would reach
23. The Browns ___ out of town last Sunday and ___ a good time there.
A) were going/had B) went/are having C) went/had D) are going/were having
E) goes/has
24. Before answering the telephone, he ___ the table
A) would be laying B) was lying C) had laid D) lay E) has laid
25. Who ___ at the meeting yesterday?
A) speak B) speaks C) spoke D) had spoken E) will speak
26. He met me with the bird in his hand. It ___ curiously at me.
A) looks B) was looking C) has been looking D) would look E) should look
27. Nick ___ yesterday.
A) will not come B) hadn’t come C) didn’t come D) hasn’t come E) came not
28. I knew that he ___ the same paper each morning.
A) was bought B) buys C) is buying D) bought E) had bought
29. He asked the children who ___ the book.
A) tore B) tear C) tears D) had torn E) will tear
30. Who ___ on a hike yesterday?
A) did go B) will go C) has gone D) went E) had went

Exercise 2:

1. The singer was awful. We left after she _________ (finish) her first song.

2. When I woke up the sun _________ (shine), but later it started to rain.

3. _________the students _________ (argue) when the teacher walked in?

4. Unfortunately, the play _________ (start) by the time we arrived at the theatre.
5. I _________ (not speak) to Mike at the party. He _________ (leave) when I got there.

6. They didn't want to watch the film because they _________ (see) it before.
7. The accident happened while we _________ (drive) to Scotland.

Exercise 3: Circle the correct word or phrase.

1 Rick should know about the meeting because I told / have told him about it yesterday.
2 Did you meet / Have you met last July while you were both backpacking around Europe?
3 I'm resigning because the pressure at work has become / became too much for me.
4 A month ago, I got / have got a letter from Neil, but I haven't replied.
5 Julie was / has been anxious to speak to you since she heard about your accident.
6 l had / have had no idea you were such a good chess player.
7 If you finished / have finished, put your hand up and I'll collect your exam paper.

Exercise 4: Write the verb in brackets in the correct form, past continuous or present perfect
continuous, in each gap.
1 Why are you out of breath?'
'Because I .......................................................................for the last hour.' (exercise)
2 Your light was on when I walked past last night.'
'Yes, I ......................................................................online to my cousin in Australia.' (chat)
3 You've really improved on the flute.'
Well, I hope so because I......................................................................a lot lately.' (practise)
4 You're not jealous of my other friends, are you?"
'No, but you ......................................................................quite a lot of them recently.' (see)
5 'Did you quit your job in the end?'
I .......................................................of doing so for a long time, but then I decided not to. (think)

Exercise 5: Fill in the gaps

I went on a trip last month to Dubai with my friend John. I was very excited about going because
I _______ (never, visit) Dubai before, and I _________ (not, see) John for a long time, because
he lives in Australia. Like myself, John is also from the UK, but he _________ (live) in
Australia for 6 years. I arrived at Dubai airport at around 8 pm after a 4-hour flight from the
UK. I met John at the airport and we checked into our hotel. I wanted to go and have a look
around the city on the first evening, but John was really tired because he _________ (sit) on a
plane for 8 hours. I decided to go and look around the city myself. As I _________ (walk)
through the city, I suddenly_________ (look) up and saw the amazing Burj Khalifa
tower. I_________ (never see) anything quite so incredible in my whole life! Many
people _________ (tell) me that it was a magnificent building, but it is only when you see it that
you realise just how big it is! I_________ (stare) at the tower when I suddenly _________
(realise) that I_________ (left) my camera back at the hotel! The rest of the trip was also
amazing, and since I have got back I_________ (tell) people about it constantly. It is great to tell
people that I_________ (see) the tallest building in the world!