Mixed tenses: Present progressive, simple present,

simple past
Gap-fill exercise

I_____________(sit) at the computer and I____________________(do) an English exercise. I

often ________________(work) with the computer. I _______________ (think) computers are great.
When our parents _____________ (be) at school they ______________ (not - have) computers.
They _____________ (must) write everything in their exercise-books. And
there ________________(be) no internet. They ______________(go) to the library and
__________________ (find) everything in books. Today you just ______________(enter) one word
into your computer and you ______________(find) thousands of pages where
you ______________(can - read) about it. But even today some people still ________________(like)
books. Some people ______________(not - like) computers. My grandma still ____________(read) a
lot. She ______________(not - use) a computer.

I _______________ (live) in Japan with my husband, Paul. I _____________(be) a teacher,

and Paul ___________(be) a journalist. We ______________(live) in a flat near the centre
of Tokyo. It ______________ (be) very expensive. Paul ___________ (work) at home. He
____________ (read) and ____________ (write) a lot. He ____________ (have) a
computer. I _____________ (work) in a language school in Tokyo.We ______________
(have) a car, but I don’t _______________ (drive) to work . I ______________ (walk) . At
weekends, Paul ______________ (play) football, and I ____________ (go) swimming. On
Saturday evenings, we ____________ (go) to the cinema, or sometimes we ___________
(cook) dinner for our friends.

It ______________ (be) winter and it ____________ (snow). It usually _____________

(snow) in January here. Betty and James ______________ (play) in the garden. They
____________ (build) a snowman and they ____________ (throw) snowballs. They
______________(like) the snow very much. Their father and mother _____________
(not/like) it. They always ___________(stay) in the house when it is cold. Their mother
usually ________________ (watch) TV and their father ______________(listen) to the radio
or _____________ (read) a book. At the moment, they ______________ (sit) in the living
room. Mother _______________ (write) a letter and father ____________ (read) a book.
They often _____________ (look) out the window to watch their children playing.

Dear Alice,

This is my second week in London. I (1)_________________(stay) with my fiancee, John,

and his
family. They (2)______________(live) in a beautiful detached house near the city
centre.Everything is nice here except for one thing. The weather! In England, the weather
(3)______________ (be/often) rainy but today it is warm and the sun
(4)_________________(shine). I am writing this letter to you sitting in a park. There are
many children (5)_________________(play) in the park so it's a bit noisy but it's still
beautiful. John's parents are very nice people. I hope you meet them soon. John's father is a
film director. He (6)_________________ (begin) his tenth film, which is about aliens, last
week. He (7)_________________ (work/still) on it. John's mother was a nurse but now she's
at home all the time. She (8)_________________ (stop) working because she has some
health problems. She (9)_________________ (go)to the hospital any more.
John is happy to be here. You can easily see that. He was 65 kilos a month ago but now
he's 70 . He
(10)_________________(put) on five kilos, I think, because of his mother's meals. He is also
excited about his new job at university. He (11)_________________ (give) up his job in high
school last week to get this job. John and I are very busy with the wedding preparations so I
(12)_______________(see) many places yet. We only (13)_________________(visit) the
National Art Gallery two days ago because there was an exhibition there. Tomorrow we are
going horse riding. I (14)_______________
(never/ ride) a horse in my life so I'm really excited about it. I hope I have a chance to see
more of
London before we get married.
See you soon,
Diana

Every year, millions of British tourists (to spend) [?] their holidays in Spain,
Italy or Greece.
Until the 1960s, however, only the rich ( can) [?] afford to tra vel abroad.
Over the last 20 years, cheaper air fares (to make) [?] it possible for almost
anyone to travel by plane.
2. - [?] (we- catch) a movie tonight?
- I'd rat her not. I ( to feel) [?] like going out.
3. - I'm afraid I ( to damage) [?] the car last night.
Oh no! What ( to happen) [?]?
I ( to hit) [?] the wall as I ( to drive) [?] into the garage.
4. - What's wrong with Joey? Why ( to cry - he) [?]?
- Norm ( to punch just) [?] him in the eye.
5. When the teacher ( to enter) [?] the classroom last Friday, Anita and
Wendy ( to wrestle) [?] on the floor. The day before the headmaster ( to
see) [?] those two fighting in the toilets.
1. Bob ( to watch) [?] TV all evening when his mum (to

come) [?] in at 11 p.m. He ( to do) [?] any of

the chores she ( to ask) [?] him to do. As a punishment, she (to

ground) [?] him for the rest of the week.

- Who (to talk -you) [?] to when Dad (to tell) [?] you to

hang up? I ( to chat) [?] with David. I ( to speak not) [?] to

him since he (to move) [?] to Bristol last month. Anyway,

 he (to give) [?] a party next Saturday and he (to invite)

[?] both of us to spend the weekend.Great! I hope Dad ( to let)

[?] us go!

8. - [?] (to see /you ) the latest "St ar Wars" yet?

- No, (short answer) [?]. When we (to go) [?] to the cinema

yesterday, there (to be) a massive queue.

We (to queue) [?] for almost an hour when someone (to

put) [?] up a "Sold out" sign.

We (to try) [?] to try again tomorrow.

9. - (to go - you) [?] jogging in the evenings?Yes, ( short

answer) / . I usually (to go) [?] for a run around the park

after supper. How about you?I (to prefer) [?] swimming to running

now, but when I

(to be) [?] younger I (to enjoy) [?] jogging very much.

Fill in the blanks with the correct tenses. Write next to

the line which tense you have used!

Benjamin ___ (to be) an exchange student. He ___ just _______ (to arrive) in the USA and
_________ (to stay) there for one year to live in a host family. His new “sister” ___ now
_________ (to show) him the house where he is going to stay. Obviously she is very proud...

“This is our house. Our family ____________ (to live) in it for almost 70 years. My great-grandfather
______ (to build) 10 it when he ___ (to be) still a young man. My greatgrandmother moved in
after they ______ (to get) married.

She ____________ (to live) here since 1934 and she still ______ (to live) here. She ______ (to
have) a room at the back of the house. Our next door neighbours __________________ (not
have) such a long family tradition – they ____________ (to buy) their house in 1996.
Of course our house is much better.

Last year we ____________ (to renovate) a lot. We ____________ (to paint) all the windows
and ____________ (to hang) new wallpapers. Not so very long ago we also ______ (to put) in new
carpets. Something very funny ____________ (to happen) when we were renovating: While my
father ____________ (to stand) on the ladder with a pail of paint, the phone suddenly ______
(to ring). He __________________ (to be surprised) that he ____________ (to spill) the paint all
over himself. Can you imagine? He looked just like a ghost, all white and he made funny sounds.
Even a week later he still ______ (to have) some paint left in his hair.

Look, this is the dining room. Here we always ______ (to eat) dinner at 6 p.m. every evening.
Sometimes, though, it gets a bit later. Every Tuesday dad ______ (to make) a barbecue.
______you ______ (to like) that? I love it! He ____________ (to make) some Hamburgers
right now. Yummy!

But let me show you your room now. I hope you will like it...”

Fill in the blanks using the correct tense of the verbs in brackets:

1. I ____________________________________ (careful / drive) my car to

school every morning last school year.

2. She _______________________________________ (greedy / eat) the cake

when John ___________________ (come) in and ______________________

(see) that the birthday cake his mother _________________________ (make)

_______________________ (be) almost gone.

3. – “Last year I ___________________________ (go) to Berlin.”

– “Oh, I ___________________________ (be) there, too, last year.”

– “And after Berlin I ___________________________ (travel) to Prague.”

– “Oh, I ___________________________ (be) there more than once.”

4. “Look, darling, those poor people at the bus-stop. It ___________________________ (rain) all
morning and they ___________________________ (stand) there in the rain without an umbrella! I
wonder for how long they ___________________________ (wait) already.”

5. – “No, Sharon, I ___________________________ (not can / see) you tomorrow, I _____________

(visit) my other girlfriend.”

– “What, tomorrow night? But you __________ _____ (promise) you ____________________ (go) to
the cinema with me!”
 – “Darling, I ___________________________ (be) sorry – I ___________________________ (call)
Pamela right away, maybe she ___________________________ (want) to come with us.”

– “Yes, Brad, that ___________________________ (sound / wonderful).”

Dear Clare,
I …………… (leave) Australia at the end of April and I ……….. (get) closeto Britain every day! I ……….
(arrive)
in Munich two day ago and I …………. (stay) with my German pen friend, Suzanne, and her family now.
They …………. (have) a flat near the centre of Munich.
Suzanne …………….. (have) a job with a Japanese company. She …………..(get) up very early every
morning
and ………. (leave) the flat before six o’clock. It is not my sort of job!
Last night we …….. (go) to a beer festival. It …….. (be) great fun. ………. you ever …….. (eat) real
frankfurters?
They are delicious! I …….. (drink) a lot of beer and we ………… (not get) home until after midnight.
Tomorrow I ……… (see) “Swam Lake” at the ballet and on Wednesday I …………..
(go) to Austria for a few days.
I hope everything is going well with you. I …………. (look) forward to staying with
you in Oxford next month.

Love, Lisa

2.-Jack Cooper …..………. (be) a production manager at Weston Aeronautics for ten years.
He ………….. (live) in a small house in the suburbs of Bristol with his wife, Peggy. At the moment,
Weston Aeronautics …………….. (expand) into Europe and they ………….. (build) a new factory in
Toulouse.

A few months ago, Jack ………….. (go) to Toulouse to look at the new factory. He ……….. (talk) to
Peter Chester, managing director of Weston about the new jobs there.
Jack ……….. (like) the sound of the new jobs and ………….. (think) that he would like to work in
France.
When he …………. (get) back to Bristol, he ……………. (discuss) things with his wife. But
they …………… (decide) to wait for a time before making a decision to leave Bristol.
They ……….. (discuss) whether to go or not for two weeks now, but they …………… (not make) up
their minds yet.
The cost of living ………… (be) higher in France, But Weston say they ………….. (provide) a house
with the job- so in fact, the money Jack …………… (earn) in Toulouse …………… (be) better than in
Bristol.

3.-One of Hollywood’s most famous dogs ……………. (be) Lassie- the star of nine feature films and
a popular TV series. Lassie first ……………………. (appear) in the classic film “Lassie Come Home” in
1943.
While they ……………. (make) the film, a dog-trainer …………….. (prepare) Lassie for every scene so
that there wouldn’t be any problems with other animals on the set. The Lassie story ………… (touch)
the hearts of children all over the world and became one the most popular animal films ever made.
Today, Hollywood film-makers ………… (make) a new Lassie film, which ……………… (entertain) the
whole family. The film ………. (tell) the story of a man without a job in a large city, who moves his
 family to a farm in Virginia to build a new life. When the situation with their neighbours becomes
difficult, Lassie ………… (come) to the rescue. The dog, they ………….. (use) in this new film is ,
in fact, a descendent of the original dog used in the first Lassie film. With the beautiful scenery of
Virginia, a good story and family values, this film …………… (probably be) a big success and who knows
Lassie on television too-

4.-Change the verbs in brackets into the correct tense .-

Dear Marjorie,
We ........... (arrive) at 10 o’clock yesterday morning. We ……….. (stay) in a nice little hotel not far from
the city centre. We ……… (already see) St Peter’s and tomorrow we ……….. (go) on a trip to Pompeii.
I ………. (be) there before- I ………….. (go) to Italy quite often when I ………. (be) a child- but
it ……….. (be) interesting to see if it …………. (change) in any way.

The weather ……………… (be) nice for the whole fortnight, it ……….(say) so in this morning’s
newspaper, so we …………(try) to do as much sunbathing and swimming as possible. According to the
hotel manager, the weather ………….. (be) terrible so fat this summer, so we …………. (be) very
fortunate.

The journey here ………… (be) awful. First Bill ……… (forget) the passports, so we ………… (have to)
Drive back home and fetch them. Then the customs people………. (spend) two hours looking through
our luggage; they ……….. (not speak) English, so we never …………. (discover) what they …….. (look)
for.

Bill …….. (study) a map of Rome for the last hour, so I ………… (think) he ……….. (intend) to do some
sightseeing. I ……. (hope) you ……….. (enjoy) the peace and quiet now that we ……… (be) away.
I …….. (write) again soon.
Lots of love, Debbie

Fill in the spaces with the right modal verbs.

Example: I ________ speak English very fluently. (key = can)

1.
You run faster if you weren't so lazy.
2.
You leave the class before 1 o'clock.
3.
You behave well in front of guests. Stop being silly.
4.
You look tired. You have some sleep.
5.
You failed in your final test. You have studied harder.
6.
I borrow your pen?
 7.
We watch TV so much.
8.
We not climb those mountains when we were kids.
9.
The project finish in two years time.
10.
Stop smoking! You really not smoke.
11.
Sami lift that heavy table. He is too weak.
12.
Muneera come to the party, but nobody is sure.
13.
Laila not swim when she was one year old.
14.
It's too cold. I close the window.
15.
It rain in the desert sometimes, but you can't depend on it.
16.
If I had enough money, I travel with my friends but now I can't.
17.
I to study well for the exam.
18.
I wish I buy a new car but i do not have any money.
19.
I have no time. I leave now. My parents are waiting for me.
20.
He be friendly, but he is usually unfriendly.

1. Let's go out. It (not/rain) now.

2. Julia is very good at languages. She (speak) four languages

very well.

3. Hurry up! Everybody (wait) for you.

4. (you/listen) to the radio?

No, you can turn it off.

5. (you/listen) to the radio every day?

No, just occasionally.

6. The River Nile (flow) into the Mediterranean.

7. Look at the river. It (flow) very fast today - much faster

than usual.

8. We usually (grow) vegetables in our garden but this year we

 (not/grow) any.

9. How is your English?

Not bad. It (improve) slowly.

10. Ron is in London at the moment. He (stay) at the Park

Hotel. He (always/stay) there when he's in London.

11. Can we stop walking soon? I to feel tired.

12. Can you drive?

I (learn). My father (teach) me.

13. Normally I finish (finish) work at 5.00, but this week I

(work) until 6.00 to earn a bit more money.

14. My parents (live) in Bristol. They were born there and have

never lived anywhere else. Where (your parents/live)?

15. Sonia (look) for a place to live. She (stay)

with her sister until she finds somewhere.

Home >> Verb Tenses Practice >> Present Simple vs Present Continuous

1. Hi, I (be) Matt Rotell, a friend of Alice's.

2. Oh, yes. Alice (mention) you the other day. Gee, you

(not look) like a detective.

3. Well, that's good, I (guess).

4. I'm curious. Tell me, how you (decide) to become

an undercover cop?

5. Well, when I (be) a kid, I (love) to read detective

novels. By the time I (be) ten, I (read) every book

in the Hardy Boys series. I (know) that I (want) to

 go into law enforcement.

6. But according to Alice, you (attend) law school

nowadays.

7. Right. I (get) married last month. I (not mind)

being on the police force when I (be) single, but ever since I

(meet) Nicole, my wife, I (want) to do

something less dangerous.

8. I (understand). By the way, you

(have) any luck yet with those counterfeiters?

9. Well, I (follow) them for more than a month now, but

so far I (not be able to) catch them in the act.

Sometimes I (worry) that by the time they're caught, I'll have

my law degree and I'll be defending them!

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