01 Elementary Verb Tense Review

Select the correct answer, A or B or C or D.

01. I.................. on holiday three weeks ago.

A. am going B. went C. go D. am gone

02. He................ for ten minutes.

A. spoke B. spoked C. speak D. speaking

03. I was in the bath when the telephone...................

A. ring B. rung C. rang D. ringed

04. I................... at that hotel when they had a fire.

A. stayed B. was staying C. stay D. have stayed

05. He met me as I..................... through the door.

A. come B. was coming C. had come D. will come

06. I.................. my work.

A. has do B. has done C. have did D. have done

07. He....................... here.

A. has always not working B. have always not worked C. have
not always
worked D. has not always worked

08. He often..................... golf.

A. plays B. is playing C. do play D. play

09. Where................... to when you overtook me yesterday?

A. was you driving B. were you driving C. was you drive D. was
driving you

10. She is here,................. she?

A. wasn't B. weren't C. isn't D. aren't

11. You are going,................ you?

A. isn't B. wasn't C. weren't D. aren't

12. They live here,............... they?

A. aren't B. don't C. doesn't D. isn't

13. I was taking it easy when the boss................... in

A. was walking B. walked C. walking D. walks

14. He was driving when the car..................

A. was crashing B. crash C. crashes D. crashed

15. We................ while you were living in Italy.

A. meet B. met C. were met D. was meeting

16. He................. the report while he was flying to Amsterdam.

A. reading B. were reading C. read D. reads

02 Elementary Verb Tense Review

Select the correct answer, A or B or C or D.

01. An author...................... books.

A. write B. writes C. is writing D. do write

02. He..................... the letter now.

A. is typing B. types C. type D. do type

03. He is a car salesman. He..................... cars.

A. sell B. is selling C. sells D. do sell

04. What were you doing at the bank? I................... my traveller's cheques.
A. changing B. am changing C. was changing D. change

05. After he.................. his dinner, he drank a cup of coffee.

A. was eating B. eat C. ate D had eaten

06. I asked him what he..........................

A. had be done B. had be doing C. has been done D. had been doing

07. .................. to the cinema.

A. Go we B. Let's C. Let's to go D. Let's go

08. Were you working yesterday? Yes, I.................. all day.

A. am working B. was working C. have worked D. had been working

09. For the past week, he.................. English.

A. has been learning B. has learnt C. is learning D. will learn

10. ...................... English?

A. Can you B. Can you speak C. Are you able to D. Will you

11. If it..................., I shall read a book.

A. rain B. will rain C. shall rain D. rains

12. If I had the money, I..................... to New York

A. could fly B. flew C. am flying D. had flown

02 Elementary Verb Tense Review

Select the correct answer, A or B or C or D.

01. An author...................... books.

A. write B. writes C. is writing D. do write

02. He..................... the letter now.

A. is typing B. types C. type D. do type

03. He is a car salesman. He..................... cars.

A. sell B. is selling C. sells D. do sell

04. What were you doing at the bank? I................... my traveller's cheques.
A. changing B. am changing C. was changing D. change

05. After he.................. his dinner, he drank a cup of coffee.

A. was eating B. eat C. ate D had eaten

06. I asked him what he..........................

A. had be done B. had be doing C. has been done D. had been doing

07. .................. to the cinema.

A. Go we B. Let's C. Let's to go D. Let's go

08. Were you working yesterday? Yes, I.................. all day.

A. am working B. was working C. have worked D. had been working

09. For the past week, he.................. English.

A. has been learning B. has learnt C. is learning D. will learn

10. ...................... English?

A. Can you B. Can you speak C. Are you able to D. Will you

11. If it..................., I shall read a book.

A. rain B. will rain C. shall rain D. rains

12. If I had the money, I..................... to New York

A. could fly B. flew C. am flying D. had flown

13. If I....................... a bigger car, police would not catch me.

A. would have B. could C. had D. was having

14. The job was easy enough.......................

A. to be doing B. to doing C. doing D. to do

15. She............................ his insults.

A. bare B. bared C. beared D. bore

Select the correct answer, A or B or C or D.

01. The lazy man lies....................... all morning.

A. the bed B. in the bed C. in bed D. to the bed

02. I had a salad....................

A. for a lunch B. to lunch C. at the lunch D. for lunch

03. Is it far? No,.......................

A. no far B. is not far C. far not D. not far

04. Will it take long? No,.......................

A. not for long B. take not long C. not long D. not take long

05. Do you want much? Yes,....................

A. much B. want much C. lot D. lots

06. He has................... books.

A. much B. a lot of C. many of D. any

07. The holiday was................... enjoyable.

A. much B. some C. fairly D. a lot

08. But it rained....................

A. rather lot B. much C. greatly D. rather a lot

09. He did it....................

A. by him B. by himself C. self D. by self
10. I have been here................... ten weeks.
A. for B. ago C. in D. since

08 ELEMENTARY USAGE 

Complete the blanks with one missing word.

01. If today is Tuesday, Thursday is the day

after .............................

02. I prefer a life in the open ................................ to working in

an office.

03. The town was a long distance .................................

04. I couldn't buy the book because the shop didn't have a
copy ............................... stock.

05. The problem needs to be taken

seriously. ............................... is no laughing matter.

06. If it had not been for his seat belt, he would have
died ................................. the accident.

07. The ambulance arrived just ................................. time to

save his life.

08. Talking to the old lady, I had to shout ................................

she was hard of hearing .

09. She is an exceptional person, one ................................. a

thousand.

10. I am taking the radio to the repair shop because it

is ................................. of order.

09 ELEMENTARY USAGE

Complete the blanks with one missing word.

01. The little child stood ....................................... the chair in
order to see out of the window.

02. She's the office gossip and knows

everything ............................... everybody.

03. Ice melts when the temperature is .......................................

zero.

04. The work of a government adviser is

done ................................ secret, behind closed doors.

05. His confession seemed ....................................... make his

guilt absolutely certain, beyond all reasonable doubt.

06. The soldier saw his girl-friend when he

was .................................. duty.

07. The golfer got ....................................... difficulties when his

ball ended up in the rough, twenty metres off the fairway.

08. We must keep the formula in as secure a

place ............................ possible, under lock and key.

09. After his illness, he was as weak ....................................... a

kitten.

10. The boss wanted to know the reason ................................ his

secretary was late.

11. A taxi-driver has to be good ..................................

remembering street names.

12. I haven't been to the movies ....................................... last

April.

13. The baby-sitter ..................................... after the children

while the parents went to the opera.

14. He failed his driving test five times but in

the ............................... he passed.
Complete the blanks with one missing word.

01. Servicing a large car such as a Cadillac or Mercedes costs lots

............................. money.

02. After the cow died, its calf was brought ............................. by
the farmer's children.

03. I've looked ............................. for my keys and simply cannot

find them.

04. The reason I failed is that I did not work

hard ............................. .

05. You need a ............................. of scissors to cut open the

packet.

06. Don't keep it to yourself. ............................. me the secret.

07. She had a party ............................ her birthday.

08. I haven't been on holiday ............................. the year before

last.

09. I would like to diet but I am a little too

fond ............................. chocolate.

10. Let's pay separately. You pay for your ticket and I'll pay
for .............................

11. That is the woman ............................. handbag was stolen in

the tube train.

12. Believe it or ............................., P G Wodehouse is the most

entertaining author I've ever read.

13. In spite ............................ working until the early hours of

the morning, he still didn't finish his work.

14. How long have you ............................. living in London?

Complete with the correct word from the choices given.
Advanced and intermediate students should NOT refer to the
choices given.

A stutter makes it difficult to speak. For example, a st-st-st-

stutter m-m-makes it d-d-d-d-d-difficult to speak.

At the speech clinic of a university, the lecturer

(01)....................................... an idea for helping his stuttering
students. He decided to give (02)....................................... some
practical exercises. He knew that stuttering is often caused by
shyness, (03)....................................... he sent them to shops to
ask for things which the shop did not usually have in stock. He
told them to ask for the object, then to ask
(04)....................................... it could be found, and then
(05)....................................... to get there.

One result was a lot of requests for p-p-p-ping-p-p-pong or t-t-t-

table t-t-t-t-tennis balls (06)....................................... the
university bookshop. At (07)....................................... , the early
customers were sent off somewhere
(08)....................................... . However,
(09)....................................... the fifth student arrived, he found
that the bookshop had (10)....................................... ping-pong
balls in stock to supply everyone in the university.

The shop manager was (11)....................................... . He said:

"I don't know what's going (12)....................................... . Why
should people expect a bookshop to stock ping-pong balls? Well,
we have to keep our customers happy. But
(13)....................................... really worries me, though, is why
everyone who (14)....................................... ping-pong stutters."

01. having     has     had     have
02. it     they     their     them
03. so    because    therefore    as
04. why    what    where    how
05. means    who    what    how
06. at    to    in    by
07. first    last    it    there
08. other    apart    else    down
09. when    whenever    until    if
10. more    many    enough    all
11. questioning    puzzling    questioned    puzzled
12. up    at    on    by
13. what    that    it    there
14. play    played    plays    playing

14 USAGE REVIEW EXERCISE

Complete with the correct word from the choices given.

Advanced and intermediate students should NOT refer to the
choices given.

At the inquest (01)............................. the death of Mrs Maureen

Riley, (02)............................. 83, it was explained that she
(03)............................. found dead in her invalid carriage, a
wheelchair driven by a powerful electric motor. Underneath the
wheels of the carriage lay Miss Janet Moore. She
(04)............................. only be freed from underneath the
carriage with the help of several passers-by.

At the inquest, Miss Moore said: "I (05).............................

promised to visit and sit with Mrs Angelo. Unfortunately,
something turned (06)............................. and I had to go
elsewhere.

"The next (07)............................. I knew, I was crossing the

park (08)............................. I saw Mrs Riley in her invalid
carriage coming at me (09)............................. full speed. I ran
and tried to get out of the (10)............................. . I dodged in
and (11)............................. of the flower beds,
(12)............................. she pursued me (13).............................
over the gardens, zig-zagging, and shouting out. In the
(14)............................. , she ran over me, and died.

01. into    for    in    to
02. aged     old    age    years
03. was    has    had     been
04. was    able    had    could
05. was    have    had    ought
06. up    to    in    round
07. what    event    happening    thing
08. then    when    that    but
09. with    at    in    to
10. street    it    way    path
11. out    among    between    around
12. still    and    but    however
13. everywhere    among    round    all
14. finale    end    conclusion    final