First Year – English I Ms.

Chatti

Grammar Review: Mixed Tenses

Instructions:
1. Read the story and underline all the verbs you encounter.
2. In pairs, discuss what tenses these verbs are.

The Barber's Tale of His Fifth Brother – The 1001 Nights

When our father died, he left each of us one hundred dirhams. My fifth brother invested his inheritance
in glassware, hoping to resell it at a handsome profit. He exhibited the glassware on a large tray, then
fell to musing:
These pieces will bring me two hundred dirhams, which I can use to buy more glass, which I will then
sell for four hundred dirhams. With this money, I can buy more glass and other merchandise to sell,
and so on and so on until I have amassed a hundred thousand dirhams. Then, I will purchase a fine
house with slaves and eunuchs, and when my capital has grown to a hundred thousand dinars, I will
demand to marry the Prime Minister's eldest daughter.
On my wedding night, I will don my finest attire and seat myself on a cushion of gold brocade to
receive my bride. She will present herself in her most beautiful clothing, lovely as the full moon, but I
will not even glance at her until her attendants kiss the ground before me and beg me to look at her,
and then I will cast at her one single glance.
When they leave us alone, I will neither look at her nor speak to her. Presently, her mother will come
into the chamber and beg of me, "Please, my lord, your handmaid longs for your favor." I will give no
answer. Then she will kiss my feet and say, "My lord, my daughter is truly a beautiful maid who has
never before been with a man. Do speak to her and soothe her mind and spirit." Then she will bring a
cup of wine, hand it to her daughter, saying, "Take this to your lord."
I will say nothing, leaning back so that she may see in me a sultan and a mighty man. She will say to
me, "My lord, do not refuse to take this cup from the hand of your servant." I will say nothing, and she
will insist, "You must drink it," and press the cup to my lips. Then I will shake my fist in her face and
kick her with my foot.
With that, he struck out, catching the tray of glassware with his foot. It crashed to the ground and
everything broke to pieces, and thus my brother lost both his capital and his profit.
3. Conjugate the given verbs so you can get a meaningful story:
The Bear Who Married a Woman - Tsimshian
Once upon a time there ………….. (live) a widow of the tribe of the Gispaxlâ'ts. Many men
………….. (try) to marry her daughter, but she ………….. (decline) them all.
The mother ………….. (say), "When a man ………….. (come) to marry you, ………….. (feel) the
palms of his hands. If they ………….. (be) soft, ………….. (decline) him. If they ………….. (be)
rough, ………….. (accept) him." She ………….. (mean) that she ………….. (want) to have for a
son-in-law a man skillful in building canoes.
Her daughter ………….. (obey) her commands and ………….. (refuse) the wooing of all young men.

Grammar Review 1 October 2020

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 First Year – English I Ms. Chatti

4. Listen to the song and complete with the missing verbs:

Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb
Hello? (Hello? Hello? Hello?) I ………… comfortably numb
Is there anybody in there? Okay (okay, okay, okay)
Just ………… if you can hear me Just a little pinprick
Is there anyone home? There ………… no more, ah
Come on now But you ………… a little sick
I hear you ………… down Can you stand up?
Well I ………… your pain I do believe it …………, good
Get you on your feet again That ………… you going through the show
Relax Come on it's time to go
I ………… some information first
There is no pain you are receding
Just the basic facts
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon
Can you show me where it hurts?
You are only coming through in waves
There is no pain you ………… Your lips move but I can't hear what you're
A distant ship smoke on the horizon saying
You ….. only ………… through in waves When I was a child
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you I ………… a fleeting glimpse
………… Out of the corner of my eye
When I was a child I ………… a fever I ………… to look but it was gone
My hands ………… just like two balloons I cannot put my finger on it now
Now I ………… that feeling once again The child is grown
I can't explain you ………… The dream is gone
This is not how I am I ………… comfortably numb
I ………… comfortably numb

5. Open the brackets using the correct tense form:

a. Tony (sit) ………..……… and (watch) ………..……… TV when I (come) ………..……… to
help him with his work project. I (not/be) ………..……… surprised as he usually
(do) ………..……… things like this on weekends.
b. When I (go) ………..……… to Josh, he (paint) ………..……… the walls. He asked me not to
touch anything as the paint (still/be) ………..……… wet.
c. Today, as Linda (go) ………..……… down the street, she (see) ………..……… a boy who
(sell) ………..……… newspapers. She (buy) ………..……… one and (find) ………..………
out that her favourite actress (just/get divorce) ………..……….
d. Jimmy’s trainer (be) ………..……… very strict. Look! He (shout) ………..……… at him right
now! He (do) ………..……… this very often. He (say) ………..……… that Jimmy
(not/do) ………..……… his best.

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 First Year – English I Ms. Chatti

e. Carla (be) ………..……… very busy today. She (just/finish) ………..……… cleaning the
bathroom. In few minutes, she (tidy) ………..……… her kitchen. She (tidy) ………..………
it every Saturday.
f. I ………..……… (never come) across such a big snake in my life. What about you?
g. My wife and I ………..……… (have) a few problems recently and I have to admit that our
relationship ………..……… (get) a bit boring since our daughter ………..……… (leave) for
university.
h. My grandparents ………..……… (come) to see us next weekend. They ………..……… (not
visit) us for two years.
i. They ………..……… (be) very tired in the evening because they ………..……… (help) on
the farm all day.
j. I ………..……… (lead) a very busy life these days. I ………..……… (prepare) for my final
exams and at the same time I ………..……… (try) to move to my new apartment. You can't
imagine how tired I am.
k. Do you know what time the 10:45 plane ………..……… (arrive) in Chicago?
l. Hardly had the minister finished his speech when the earthquake ………..……… (shake) the
stadium.
m. I wasn't surprised to hear that Monica ………..……… (have) an accident as she is a very
reckless driver.
n. Since the very first day when the Umbrella Company embarked upon such a dangerous and
risky lab-research, very strange incidents ………..……… (take place) within the research
complex.
o. When I ………..……… (come) home this evening, my parents ………..……… (go) out for a
walk.
p. By the year 2020, linguists ………..……… (study) the Indy-European language family for
more than 200 years.
q. By the time he was 14, Wolfgang Mozart ………..……… (compose) an enviable number of
musical pieces.
r. Archaeologists ………..……… (explain) recently that an ancient underground city around
Cappadocia has long wide corridors where there are many special areas for making cheese and
wine.
s. We ………..……… (visit) the seashore many times before, but last summer
we ………..……… (enjoy) ourselves more than ever.

Grammar Review 1 October 2020

iSLCollective.com