CONSOLIDATION EXERCISES ON THE TENSES

1. Mrs Newton ………………………….. (cook) in the kitchen when her husband arrived.
2. The plumber is repairing the pipe now. I’m sure it ……………………… (be) ready soon.
3. Keep quiet! The teacher ……………………… (talk).
4. …………… he ……………… (go) to church every Sunday?
5. My dad ………………….. (visit) Hong Kong twice.
6. I ………………………. (do) my homework all yesterday afternoon.
7. Tom is very tired now. He ……………………….. (play) all morning.
8. Mr. Brown …………………………. (work) in the factory from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow.
9. Peter told his girlfriend that he ………………………….. (already-buy) a present for her
birthday.
10. She …………………………… (read) the book for two hours now.
11. The earth …………………….. (revolve) round the sun.
12. I ……………………………. (finish) my homework by the time I go to the cinema tonight.
13. I ………………………. (see) that boy before. I know his name.
14. …………………………. (she-sleep) this time tomorrow?
15. It ……………………………… (rain) since yesterday.
16. By the end of last year, I ……………………….. (complete) three English courses.
17. Mr. Smith ………………………. (drive) to his office when his wife gets up tomorrow
morning.
18. My boss ………………….. (just-return) from Italy.
19. I got to the cinema and saw that the film ………………….. (already-start)
20. Michael ………………….. (see) that film several times already.
21. My secretary ……………………….. (type) the report for the past three hours.
22. We ………………….. (never-be) to Italy.
23. Tom ………………….. (have) long hair and beard when he was at university.
24. It started snowing while ………………………. (drive) home.
25. I …………………………. (not call) at 9 o’clock as we arranged because I was having a
meeting.
26. I’ll call you when I ………………. (come) to my office.
27. The phone is ringing! OK- I …………………… (answer) it.
28. I got home and found that someone …………………….. (try) to break into the house.
29. I …………………… (go) to Ireland in 1998 and then to Sweden in 1999.
30. Perhaps John ………………….. (pass) the exam.
31. My ankle was swollen because I ………………………… (walk) for hours.
32. Look! The postman …………………… (come)
33. Chloe will join the drama club as soon as she ………………….. (go) to university.
34. The ship …………………. (arrive) every day at 4.00
35. Recently, Veronica …………………. (start) to enjoy listening to opera.
36. Susan ………………………. (write) a letter when the phone rang.
37. Brad ………………………. (go) to the same beach for holidays for the last ten years.
38. Jenny ………………………. (talk) on the phone right now, but she’ll be with you in a
moment.
39. Tom ………………………… (clean) the car for three hours, and he still isn’t finished.
40. That was the first time he …………………….. (be) to London.
1. Elsa walked / was walking to school when she remembered that there was going to
be a test.
2. The team was practicing / had been practicing together for over six months, so
they played very well.
3. The concert starts / will start at 5 o’clock sharp.
4. My parents have been / have gone to Spain for their summer vacations.
5. When they returned to their house, they found that the flood destroyed / had
destroyed most of their furniture.
6. Sheila has read / had read many novels when she was younger, but now she is too
busy to read much.
7. John visited / was visiting friends in Spain when he heard about the earthquake.
8. They saw / had already seen all the good plays, so they went bowling instead.
9. I will follow your instructions as long as you ask / will ask nicely.
10. Tracy had written / had been writing novels for twenty years before they were
published.
11. Take a few sandwiches in case you are / will be hungry.
12. By next month we will be practicing / will have been practicing for two months.
13. The first time I saw Mary was / has been two years ago.
14. This time tomorrow we will be flying / will have been flying over the Atlantic.
15. By next month, we will study / will have been studying for six years to become
doctors.
16. Thomas already went / has already gone to Paris, so you’ll have to call back again.
17. The last time Sheila spoke / had spoken to Francis was in 2006.
18. He is / has been sick for over a week.
19. Picasso created / has created many famous works of art.
20. My sister walks / is walking three kilometers every day to keep fit.
21. I am meeting / will meet my friends tomorrow evening outside the cinema.
22. When I went past his room at midnight, Jimmy studied / was studying for his
history test.
23. In the past, I went / was going out with friends more often.
24. Dad, you look / are looking great in that suit!
25. Harry watched / was watching TV when his friends arrived.
26. She thinks / is thinking of having driving lessons.
27. His school performance gets / is getting worse and worse.
28. Molly has just been / has just gone to the shops. She’ll be back in half an hour.
29. I was waiting / had been waiting for over an hour when I realized that I was at the
wrong bus stop.
30. We didn’t finish / hadn’t finished cleaning the house when our friend arrived.