1.

Present Tense Simple and Continuous

Dear Mum,
I _________________________ (WRITE) to tell you how much I ______________________
(APPRECIATE) the money you have sent me, and to tell you what I __________________________ (DO)
at university. I ____________________________ (STUDY) hard, but at the moment I
_______________________________ (SPEND) a lot of time making new friends. I
____________________________ (STILL STAY) with my friend Jill and I _________________________
(LOOK) for some place to live alone. Only a small number of first year students
__________________________ (LIVE) in college here and I ___________________________ (SPEND) a
lot of time travelling.
I _______________________________ (go) to classes every morning, and most afternoons I
_______________________ (STUDY) in the library. I _______________________________ (WRITE) this
letter right now instead of an essay on Shakespeare.
I want to buy new clothes with the money you have sent me. Everything
___________________________ (COST) a lot here, and I _______________________________ (SAVE)
to buy a coat for the winter months. It ___________________ (GET) really cold here in the evenings.
I now _______________________________ (KNOW) some other students and we
__________________________ (HAVE) a good time. I _____________________________________
(ALSO LEARN) to drive. University students _________________ (GET) their money back if they take
their tests here.
See you soon.
Kate

2. Past Simple or Present Perfect Simple

1. The weather _________________ (be) terrible two days ago.
2. We _________________ (wash) the dishes. They’re clean now.
3. _____________________________ (your course, start) yet?
4. Emma _________________ (pack) her bag last night.
5. They ________________ (close) the shop. – Really? When ____________________ (that happen)?
6. Do you want to play tennis? We _________________ (not play) since we were children.
7. The airplane _________________ (just, land).
8. Prices _________________ (go) up. Everything is more expensive this year.
9. I’m tired. We _________________ (walk) 10 miles.
10. The Queen _________________ (arrive) in a helicopter last night.
11. How long ______________________ (Vicky, have) that camera? – For about a month.
12. We ______________________ (just come) back from our holidays.
13. Your box _________________ (arrive). The postman _______________ (bring) it two hours ago.
14. He _________________ (be) at his computer for two hours.
15. We _________________ (live) there for ten years but we _________________ (be) in Birmingham
for the last two.
16. We _________________ (not have) a party for ages.
17. My sister’s car is only a year old but she ___________________________ (already crash) it.
18. Dinosaurs _________________ (live) on the earth millions of years ago.
19. It _____________________ (not rain) yet today.
20. __________________________ (you see) last week’s magazine?

3. Past Tense – Simple or Continuous.

1. George ________________ from the ladder while he ________________ the ceiling. (fall, paint)
2. Last night I ________________ in bed when I suddenly ________________ a scream. (read, hear)
3. ________________ TV when I ________________ you? (you watch, phone)
4. Ann ________________ for me when I ________________ . (wait, arrive)
5. Maisie ________________ the kitchen when John ______________ her to marry him. (clean, ask)
6. The house ________________ £ 150,000 in 2003. (cost)
7. The fire _______________________ at six in the morning. (still burn)
8. My brother ________________ a new job a week ago (get).
 9. Columbus ________________ America over 500 years ago (discover)
10. She ____________ not interested in the book because she ________________ it (be ,not understand)
11. ________________ at school yesterday? (you be)
12. We ________________ in a house near the sea last summer (live)
13. She ________________ the piano very well when she ________________ young (play, be)
14. She ________________ the office very early last night (leave).
15. I ________________ a friend while I ________________ the shopping (meet, do)
16. I ________________ for my things when I ________________ someone call my name (pay, hear)
17. I ________________ around and ________________ Judy. (turn, see)
18. She ________________ a yellow dress when I ________________ her last (wear, see)
19. We ________________ to have a cup of tea. (decide)
20. While the waiter ________________ the pieces of glass he ______________ his finger (take, cut)
21. Then we ________________ the cafe and ________________ good bye (leave, say)
22. I ________ the fire at six and it ___________ when Tom came in at seven. (light, still burn)
23. My dog _______________ when Mary’s Pekinese _____________ him. (walk, attack)
24. When I ________________ she ________________ lunch. She said she always ________________
lunch at 12:30. (arrive, have, have)
25. What ________________ of his last book? –I ________________ it a lot (you think, like)
26. He ________________ that he ________________ in the wrong direction. (realize, travel)
27. He ________________ guitar when someone ________________ the window and
________________ out a bucket of water. (play, open, throw)
28. He ________________ us to go out in the boat yesterday because a strong wind ________________
(not let, blow)
29. The next day, as they _______________ that the police ______________ for them, they
____________ the coats in the woods and _____________ in different directions. (know, look, hide, go)
30. When I ________________ home they ________________ around a fire. Jack ________________ a
puzzle, Judy ________________ and the others ________________. Mother ________________ at me and
said: “Come and sit down” (come, sit, do, knit, read, smile)

4. Past Tense Simple and Continuous

Herbie loves trains! He first __________________ (SEE) a train when he was five years old and he
__________________ (BE) absolutely fascinated. He __________________ (GO) to a different train station
every week and __________________ (WRITE) down the number of every train he sees.
At one time, while he __________________ (STAND) at a station he _____________ (SEE) something
very strange. He __________________ (WAIT) for a train when he suddenly __________________ (SEE)
an old locomotive. It __________________ (NOT STOP) at the station and when it __________________
(PASS), Herbie saw that all the passengers __________________ (WEAR) old-fashioned clothes.

5. All tenses
1. They ___________________ in Chicago for 20 years (be).
2. I ___________________ a wonderful film in the cinema last night. (see)
3. The sun ___________________ early yesterday morning (rise)
4. The sun ___________________ when the climber reached Mount Everest. (shine)
6. Unfortunately, just as we got to the airport their plane ___________________ off (take).
7. They ___________________ to the movies three months ago (go)
8. Sh! Someone ___________________ to our conversation (listen)!
9. When I left the house this morning, it ___________________ (rain)
10. I think Bob ___________________ for London this very moment.(leave)
11. I ___________________ up at 7 every morning but this morning I ___________________ long and
I ___________________ up until 8. (get, sleep, not get)
12. They ___________________ in an apartment right now because they can’t find a cheap house. (live)
13. Everyone ___________________ when the earthquake hit the small town. (sleep)
14. He _________________________ by herself since moved to London (live)
15. He ___________________ his job two years ago. (quit)
16. Our daughter __________________________ from the university yet (graduate).
 17. They ___________________ any Christmas cards last year (not send)
18. She ___________________ to a doctor once a year for an examination (go)
19. They ___________________ about me when I interrupted their conversation. (talk)
20. Nothing ______________________ when I arrived at the meeting (happen).
21. I ___________________ two mistakes in the last test. (make)
22. Unfortunately, our team ___________________ any games last year. (not win)
23. I _______________ a great film yesterday. (see)
24. _____________________ a new car? (you ever buy)
25. I _______________ him last Monday. (meet)
26. The band _______________ while I _______________ . (play, write)
27. She _______________ the new car in 2005. (buy)
28. Her mother _____________________ in Victoria for five years. (live)
29. I _____________________ so much fun since I was a kid. (have)
30. When I got up I ____________________ out of the window and ___________________ that it
_____________________ . (look, see, rain)
31. I _________________ over Loch Ness last week. - __________________ the Loch Ness monster?
(fly, you see)
32. I’m afraid I’m not hungry. I _____________________. (already eat)
33. Peter _____________________ football in the afternoon when he got the call. (play)
34. “What _____________________ between 9 and 12 yesterday morning”, the detective said. (you do)
35. The doctor’s waiting room was full of people. Some _____________________ a magazine, a woman
_____________________ and a child _____________________ with a doll. (read, knit, play)
36. Travelling _______________ much easier and more comfortable in last hundred years. (become)
37. I _____________________ cake. That’s why my hands are full of flour. (bake)
38. My best friend and I _____________________ each other for 15 years. (know)
39. Jack usually _____________________ but he _____________________ when his father comes.
(smoke, not smoke)
40. _____________________ breakfast yet? – Yes I had it together with Sue at 7. (you have)
41. I _____________________ this kind of work when I was a small boy. (do)
42. He _____________________ the paper when his wife came home. (read)
43. He always _____________________ to the supermarket alone, but today he
_____________________ his son with him. (go, take)
44. He never _____________________ in the evening, only on Sundays. (work)
45. I _____________________ to South America but I have been to New York several times. (never, be)
46. I _____________________ to the bank yesterday but when I got there it was closed. (go)
47. Lee _____________________ late every day since Tuesday. (be)
48. Herbert’s father _____________________ his son’s birthday (never forget)
49. My family have ___________________ (buy) some land in southern France recently. They
___________________ (build) a summer house there at the moment.
50. Andy and Mary ___________________ (go) to a concert tomorrow night.
51. Jonathan ___________________ (watch) the news on TV every day and it ___________________
(help) him with his English.
52. When he ___________________ (start) Microsoft, Bill Gates was only 20 years old.
53. An accident ___________________ (happen) near my house last night. A car _______________
(hit) a young man. He ___________________ (ride) his bike when someone in front of him suddenly
__________________ (open) a car door. Many people ___________________ (see) the accident. The police
___________________ (interrogate) them last night.
54. She ___________________ (not see) her father since he ___________________ (start) to work in
India two years ago.
55. I ________________________ (just see) the film “The Da Vinci Code”.
56. I ___________________ (ski) when I was at the university but I ___________________ (break) a
leg five years ago and since then I ___________________ (not ski) any more.
0 zero
1 one
2 two
3 three
4 four
5 five
6 six
7 seven
8 eight
9 nine
10 ten
11 eleven
12 twelve

13-19 “teen”
*13 threeteen - thirteen
14 fourteen
*15 fiveteen - fifteen
16 sixteen
17 seventeen
*18 eighteen
19 nineteen

20-90 “ty”
*20 - twoty - twenty
*30 - thirty
***40 - forty
*50 - fifty
60 - sixty
70 - seventy
80 - eighty
90 - ninety

21 twenty-one
22 twenty-two
29 twenty-nine
34 thirty-four
44 forty-four
57 fifty-seven
65 sixty-five
78 seventy-eight
83 eighty-three
99 ninety-nine

1000-9000 thousand
1000 one thousand / a thousand
2000 two thousands
3000 three thousand
9000 nine thousand