1

Proactive English Learning Center

Name: __________________ Date: __________________
Fill in the blanks with correct forms of verbs:

1. Michael _______________ (leave) home at 8:00 this morning and

_______________ (arrive) at school at 8: 20am. He _______________ (greet)
his teachers at the school gate. At present, he _______________ (line) up to
get into his classroom and some of his classmates _______________ (push)
one another in the queue. In ten minutes, Michael _______________ (have)
his first lesson.

2. One day, Kent and Paul _______________ (meet) each other at the gym.
Since they had not seen each other for a long time, they _______________
(talk) to each other for a while.

Kent: How long _______________ you _______________(be) a police officer?

Paul: I _______________ (start) working in the police force in 2012 so it

_______________ (be) seven years. Before entering the police training
school, I _______________ (have) a part-time job in a fast-food restaurant. I
used to _______________ (serve) food to customers. It _______________ (be)
quite an interesting experience though.

Kent: I _______________ (think) you _______________ (want) to

_______________ (become) an athlete. You _______________ (be) the
champion in many running races in our secondary school. Back then, you
_______________ (will not/hang) out with us while Sports Days
_______________ (come).

Paul: Well, those _______________ (be) the old days. Everyone

_______________ (have) to make a living and _______________ (plan) for
your future, especially when you _______________ (live) in Hong Kong. The
cost of living keeps _______________ (go) up and everything
_______________ (get) more expensive.
 2

3. Paula: Dad, can we _______________ (get) some ice-cream tomorrow?

Dad: I _______________ (be) afraid you can’t. Even if you ask mom, she
_______________ (not/allow) you to eat ice-cream in winter. Last year, you
_______________ (have) too much ice-cream and you _______________ (get)
sick very often.

Paula: I _______________ (not/eat) ice-cream for a long time. I hope

summer _______________ (come) soon. I really love _______________ (eat)
lychee ice-cream.

Dad: Let’s _______________ (eat) hotpot instead. Both you and your mom
enjoy _______________ (have) hotpot for dinner.

4. Liz: Would you like _______________ (join) our barbecue party this coming
Saturday? It _______________ (be) fun.

Joyce: I’d _______________ (love) to but I _______________ (travel) to the

United States on that day. My mom _______________ (book) our flight
tickets already.

5. Sally _______________ (study) after she _______________ (finish) her

homework every day. She _______________ (play) badminton with her
friends every Wednesday. However, she _______________ (not/be) very
good at playing at it. Right now, she _______________ (try) her best to learn
everything she can to measure up with her friends.

6. Would you mind _______________ (fix) the air-conditioner? It

_______________ (not/work).

7. How long _______________ Maggie _______________ (live) in Australia? She

_______________ (leave) Hong Kong in 2009. She and her family
_______________ (live) there for 10 years.

8. Hurry up! Our movie _______________ (begin)at 7:05pm.

 3

9. Mom: _______________ you _______________ (tidy) your bedroom and

_______________ (pack) your school bag before you _______________ (go)
to bed last night?

Lucas: Yes, I _______________ (do). I _______________ (put) everything back

to the places where they _______________ (belong).

Mom: Look at your room! Everything _______________ (be) still in a mess!

Your shoes _______________ (be) on your bed and your chinchilla
_______________ (eat) your worksheets! You should always _______________
(keep) your bedroom clean. How many times _______________ your dad
_______________ (tell) you about the importance of hygiene?

Lucas: Sorry, mom. But I _______________ (do) the washing up and

_______________ (throw) away the trash already. Can you _______________
(forgive) me and _______________ (give) me a chance?

10. Two years ago, Sara _______________ (be) a lazy girl. She
_______________ (not/work) hard at school or at home. She _______________
(not/pay) attention to any teachers during lessons. She even
_______________ (send) messages to her friends under her desk. This year,
Sara _______________ (be) a diligent girl. She _______________ (finish) her
homework once she gets back home. She _______________ (not/watch) TV
for a long time. Sometimes she even _______________ (wash) all the dishes
in the kitchen. She is so different now.

11. _______________ (be) there any amusement parks 50 years ago? No,
there _______________ (be) any amusement parks 50 years ago.

12. Sandy forgot _______________ (bring) her textbook and notebook when
she _______________ (go) to Miss Chan’s lesson. She _______________
(promise) Miss Chan that she _______________ (will/pack) all the things she
needed one day before the lesson.
 4

13. Where’s Ann? Her mother _______________ (look) for her right now. She
needs _______________ (ask) her something.

14. Aiden _______________ (go) to the gym for workout on a regular basis. He
_______________ (try) to build more muscles now since he _______________
(want) to look healthier. He _______________ never _______________ (give)
up doing exercise since 2017.

15. In Helen’s family, Helen is responsible for _______________ (sweep) and

_______________ (mop) the floor. Her brother, James, enjoys
_______________ (wipe) the windows and _______________ (dust) the
furniture. Helen’s mother is good at _______________ (cook) tasty dishes.
However, Helen’s mother hates _______________ (do) the washing-up so
her husband _______________ just _______________ (buy) her a new
dishwasher. Helen’s father _______________ (be) a businessman so he
_______________ (not/have) so much time for the household chores but
he always _______________ (fix) the home appliances for the family. He
_______________ (love) his family very much. Next month, they
_______________ (travel) to Barcelona in Spain as they _______________
never _______________ (be) there before.

16. When you cough or sneeze, you should _______________ (cover) your
nose and your mouth with a tissue. If not, the people around you may
_______________ (get) sick easily.

17. _______________ Jennifer _______________ (ride) a bicycle at the moment?

No, she _______________ (not/be). She _______________ (take) care of her
plants in her garden. So far, she _______________ (grow) six different kinds
of plants such as orchid and tulip. Soon, she _______________ (be) a florist
and have her own shop.

18. _______________ your neighbours _______________ (talk) to you often? No,

they _______________ (not). Most of them _______________ (be) busy. Some
of them _______________ (go) to work and some of them _______________
(have) children to take care of. I _______________ (talk) to them once or
twice only.
 5

19. Recently, there _______________ (be) a lot of thieves at the MTR station.
Two weeks ago, five victims _______________ (report) on the same day
that they _______________ (lose) their wallets on the train. The police
officers _______________ still _______________ (look) into the cases.

20. Everyone should _______________ (protect) the environment by

_______________ (reduce) the use of paper and the consumption of
electricity. Also, _______________ (turn) off the tap when it is not in use.
Let’s _______________ (take) action for a better future!

21. Mr. Cooper _______________ (give) his wife a surprise later this evening
since it is her birthday today. His wife enjoys _______________ (dine) at a
French restaurant in the Conrad Hotel, where he _______________ (reserve)
a table last month. They _______________ (have) a 5-course seafood
candle light dinner and a band _______________ (play) some jazz music.

22. Sarah is fond of _______________ (swim) but last week her leg
_______________ (hurt) so she _______________ (not/go) to the pool. She
_______________ (see) the doctor again tomorrow evening.

23. ‘Today’ is the word for winners. Successful people tend to

_______________ (do) things according to their plans and objectives. They
_______________ (not/procrastinate) when they have to achieve
something. Instead, they _______________ (act) as they talk. ‘Tomorrow’ is
the word for losers. They usually postpone _______________ (finish) their
tasks even though they want to get something done. This type of people
_______________ (have) plans in their mind but they seldom actually
_______________ (do) something about it.

24. Lately, Susan _______________ (decide) _______________ (open) her own

café in Central. Last night, she _______________ (discuss) her business plan
with her partners in a café. She _______________ (tell) them they should
_______________ (spend) at least $600,000 on renovation and installation
but some of her partners _______________ (not/agree) with her. ‘What
customers care about _______________ (be) your coffee and cakes, not
 6

only the environment.’ Her friend _______________ (reply). They

_______________ (talk) for 3 hours that night, and still they _______________
(not/reach) an agreement so far.

25. Fiona is fond of _______________ (dance). She _______________ (perform)

on the stage almost every month and everyone _______________ (enjoy)
her performance a lot. She _______________ (join) more than 50 dancing
competitions up to now. Definitely, she _______________ (be) a dancer
when she grows up. However, neither his father nor his mother
_______________ (want) her _______________ (be) a dancer even though
she _______________ (dance) since she was three.

26. This morning, Tom _______________ (sleep) when I _______________ (ring) his
doorbell so he _______________ (not/hear) it. I _______________ (not/want)
to _______________ (disturb) him so I _______________ (leave).

27. Paul is lonely at school because no one _______________ (like) to talk to

him. He _______________ (have) communication problems. At the
moment, he _______________ (learn) how _______________ (talk) nicely to
others. One day, he _______________ (speak) to his classmate, Carl, who
_______________ (sit) next to him. ‘_______________ you _______________
(mind) _______________ (tell) me what this word _______________ (mean)?’

28. Katy _______________ (prefer) _______________ (travel) to the U.K to Italy

because she _______________ (like) British cultures more. Her mother, on
the other hand, _______________ (love) _______________ (visit) Eastern
Europe. She _______________ (be) to Poland five times. It _______________
(be) where she _______________ (meet) her husband 40 years ago.

29. Leo is a shy kid. He avoids _______________ (answer) people’s questions.

His class teacher would like _______________ (help) him by _______________
(talk) to him more. The teacher _______________ never _______________
(give) up on him. Hopefully, he _______________ (be) a bit more active in
class.
 7

30. How long _______________ it _______________ (take) to travel from the

picnic site to the barbecue site? It _______________ (take) half an hour.

31. Keep quiet! The children _______________ (study) in their bedrooms.

32. Miley recommends me _______________ (buy) this book since it is worth

_______________ (read). Aiden, on the other hand, persuades me
_______________ (go) to the movies. Since both of them _______________
(be) my friends, I’d hate _______________ (reject) them. Personally, I’d
rather _______________ (stay) at home and _______________ (tidy) my
house than _______________ (roam) around the city all day long.

33. Sara: Hey, Laura! How _______________ you _______________ (be)lately? I

_______________ (not/see) you for ages!

Laura: I _______________ just _______________ (come) back from the United

States. I _______________ (be) on my business trip for a year. It
_______________ (be) so nice to see you again.

Sara: Look at you, you _______________ (look) gorgeous! You

_______________ (lose) weight, haven’t you? Guess what, I
_______________ (resign) after you _______________ (leave) Rocher. I
_______________ (not/wait) until the end of the year for the yearend
bonuses.

Laura: I _______________ (be) glad you _______________ (do)! It was a wise

choice indeed. By the way, the whole company _______________
(downsize) since 2016. Now, every department _______________
_______________ (cut) cost by _______________ (reduce) the number of
employees and I heard they _______________ (dismiss) at least 20 senior
staff earlier this year. _______________ (work) in another company is not a
bad idea after all as you _______________ (have) so much work
experience since you graduated.