EXERCISES

Exercise I Open the brackets and put the verbs in Simple Past.

Mrs Sheridan has always dreamed of becoming an actress. One day she ________(meet) a very hansome man. He _______(turn out) to be a farmer. At first, she ________(think) that it ________(be) good because she ________(like) the idea of living in the country. They _______(get married) and they ________(live) happily for some time. She ________(continue) her studies and he _________(take care) of his farm. Then, things _________(complicate) a little bit. When she _______(graduate) from the University she _______(not, can) find a job. She ________(not, want) to sit at home and do nothing so she _________(decide) to help her husband on the farm. He _________(know) that she ______(be) no good but he _________(not, want) to argue with her and he ______(let) her do some things. She _____(be) very clumsy. One day she _______(break) twenty eggs. She _______(not, tell) him about it because she_______(be sure) he would be furious. Another day, she accidentally _______(kill) two small ducklings. There ______(be) many instances of her clumsiness. Finally, he _________(notice) that some animals or objects ______(be) missing. He ________(call) her and ________(ask) if she _________(happen to know) where they ________(be). She _______(not, can) lie anymore. She _________(confess) that it _____(be) her fault. She _______(explain) why some things ________(disappear). He _______(not, shout) at her. He _______(tell) her not to worry. She _________(promise) to be more careful. Soon, she ________(get) a job in a theatre and she ______(be) the happiest person in the world. Exercise II Open the brackets and put the verbs in Simple Past. cc+ Larry ______(have) a very strange day yesterday. Not only did he lose his wallet but also his suitcase. Yes, thats how his day ________(start). Either somebody ________(steal) it while he was waiting for a bus or he simply ________(forget) to take it. He _______(not, know) how it ________(happen). Anyway, he _____(begin) working as usual. He _______(take out) some papers from the drawer. Then, he accidentally _______(knock over) the ink bottle. The ink ____(ruin) all the documents on the desk. His boss ______(scream) at him and all he ________(can) do was cry. After some time, he ________(pull) himself together and 1

_________(apologize) for all the mess. Right after that, he _____(be) on his way to his office when he ________(trip over) a book and almost _______(break) his arm. His friend, Linda, ______(see) it all and _______(decide) to bring him some coffee. It ____(be) too much for the poor man that day. He _______(need) a break. When she ________(make) a cup of coffee for him, she _________(take) it into his office and ______(put) it on his desk. He _______(want) to take a sip when, to his surprise and horror, he _______(notice) that there _____(be) false teeth in the cup. His friend, Linda, _______(say) later on that she _______(not, know) anything about it. _______(be) it just bad luck or was somebody playing dirty tricks on him?

1. Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Simple or Present Continuous: a. He usually (drink) coffee but today he (drink) tea. b. The Rotring (belong) to Mary. c. He (come) to see me tonight; we (go) on a trip to Sinaia next week and we (want) to make plans for it. d. I (live) in Ploiesti, but this week, as I (attend) a course in Bucharest, I (stay) with my uncle in Calea Floreasca. e. This book (contain) 14 chapters. f. Maria (come) from Spain this week; g. She (speak) French, English and Italian. h. What you (do) here? I (look) for my glasses. i. Where you (live)? I (live) in Scotland. j. This week we (study) the Middle Ages in the English Culture and Civilisation. k. This bottle (hold) boric acid. Dont touch it! l. Ann (resemble) her mother more and more. m. It (rain) now. It often (rain) in summer. n. Pardon me, sir, but I (think) you (stand) on my feet. 2. Decide which is the most appropriate form of the verb in the following sentences: a. Im thinking/ I think of you. b. She smells/ is smelling gas.; c. Mother is tasting/ tastes the soup to see if it needs more salt.; d. We have/ are having dinner now.; e. Could you call him back in twenty minutes as he has/ is having a bath right now. f. Whats wrong with you? Why are you looking/ do you look at me like this? g. The film is extremely long and boring. It lasts/ is lasting four hours. 2

h. I think/ am thinking that something is wrong with the radiator in this room. It gets/ is getting colder and colder. i. What exactly does your job involve/ is your job involving? 3. Choose the correct sentence: a. She has a car. /She is having a car. b. We think she is tall./ We are thinking she is tall. c. I am seeing a horse. / I see a horse. d. The sweater feels soft. / The sweater is feeling soft. e. She is looking angry. / She looks angry. f. I feel the sweater. / I am feeling the sweater. g. The dentist is seeing a patient. / The dentist sees a patient. h. The grocer is weighing sugar. / The grocer weighs sugar. i. I am looking at the picture. / I look at the picture. j. We think about her. / We are thinking about her. k. She is having dinner. / She has dinner . l. Ann is foolish today. / Ann is being foolish today. m. She is tasting the soup. / She tastes the soup. n. The actor is appearing on TV. / The actor appears on TV. 6. Put the verbs in brackets into the simple present or the present continuous tense. a. You cannot see Mary now: she (see) her boyfriend. b. They wont go out as it (snow) and they (not have) warm clothes. c. Hardly anyone (wear) tight pants nowadays. d. George cant watch his favourite TV program now because his father (watch) a movie. e. Shes busy at the moment. She (put) the baby to sleep. f. This novel is about a boy who (desert) his friends and (go) to enrol in the army. g. The train that we (look) at right now just (leave) for Arad. h. What George (do) to his computer now? ~ I (think) he (format) it. i. Why you (listen) to this song, Mary? You (not listen) to this type of music as a rule. j. That play (come) to our theatre next week. You (want) to see it?

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses. 1. A: What (you, do) when the accident occurred? B: I (try) to change a light bulb that had burnt out. 3

2. After I (find) the wallet full of money, I (go, immediately) to the police and (turn) it in. 3. The doctor (say) that Tom (be) too sick to go to work and that he (need) to stay at home for a couple of days. 4. Sebastian (arrive) at Susan's house a little before 9:00 PM, but she (be, not) there. She (study, at the library) for her final examination in French. 5. Sandy is in the living room watching television. At this time yesterday, she (watch, also) television. That's all she ever does! 6. A: I (call) you last night after dinner, but you (be, not) there. Where were you? B: I (work) out at the fitness center. 7. When I (walk) into the busy office, the secretary (talk) on the phone with a customer, several clerks (work, busily) at their desks, and two managers (discuss, quietly) methods to improve customer service. 8. I (watch) a mystery movie on TV when the electricity went out. Now I am never going to find out how the movie ends. 9. Sharon (be) in the room when John told me what happened, but she didn't hear anything because she (listen, not) . 10. It's strange that you (call) because I (think, just) about you. Put the verbs into the correct form (past continous). 1. When I phoned my friends, they (play) monopoly. 2. Yesterday at six I (prepare) dinner. 3. The kids (play) in the garden when it suddenly began to rain. 4. I (practice) the guitar when he came home. 5. We (not / cycle) all day. 6. While Alan (work) in his room, his friends (swim) in the pool. 7. I tried to tell them the truth but they (not / listen ) . 4

8. What (you / do) yesterday? 9. Most of the time we (sit) in the park. 10. I (listen) to the radio while my sister (watch) TV. 11. When I arrived, They (play) cards. 12. We (study) English yesterday at 4:00 pm . Write correct sentences: Yesterday at 6 pm your family were doing different things. Write positive sentences in past continous. 1. My mother / read / a novel 2. My father / watch / a movie 3. My elder sister / writing / in her diary 4. My two brothers / listen / to the radio 5. My little sister and I / not / watch / a movie 6. We / talk / about school Fill in the words in brackets as adjective or adverb as in the example. Example: Peter works ______ (slow). Answer: Peter works slowly. 1) He reads a book. (quick) 2) Mandy is a girl. (pretty) 3) The class is loud today. (terrible) 4) Max is a singer. (good) 5) You can open this tin. (easy) 6) It's a day today. (terrible) 7) She sings the song . (good) 8) He is a driver. (careful) 9) He drives the car . (careful) 10) The dog barks . (loud)