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ENG Mixed Tenses Past Present Future 1
ENG Mixed Tenses Past Present Future 1
Dear Mary, How are you? I (hear) from you for a while. The most important thing to tell you
is that Maggie (win) first prize in a ballet exam last week. She (have to) go to London for
the whole day, and this morning we (get) a letter saying that she had won!
We're all delighted, because she (work) very hard for years.
Did you know that Joanna, our eldest daughter, (be) in the Far East for the past six
months? She (be) in Melbourne for a while but then she (leave) Australia and (go) to
Indonesia. She (travel) around the world for ten months now, I think I begin to miss her!
The last bit of news is that I (break) my leg! I (decorate) Maggie's bedroom when I (hear)
the doorbell; while I (run) downstairs, I (stumble) on my dog Pickles and (fall)!
I (have) my leg in plaster for a week, but that is not a problem, because I'm on holiday! I
hope you are all well. Write soon. Love
Susan
Put the verbs in brackets in the present perfect, past simple, past perfect, present perfect
continuous, or past continuous.
Dear Mary, How are you? I (not/hear) ............................................................. from you for a while. The
most important thing to tell you is that Maggie (win) ............................................................. first prize
in a ballet exam last week. She (have to) ............................................................. go to London for the
whole day, and this morning we (get) ............................................................. a letter saying that she
(win) ............................................................. !
We're all delighted, because she (work) ............................................................. very hard for years.
Did you know that Joanna, our eldest daughter, (be) ............................................................. in the Far
East for the past six months? She (go) ............................................................. to Melbourne last
August. She (be) ............................................................ there for two months when her boss (offer)
............................................................ her a better position in the firm's headquarters in New Zealand.
Of course she (take) ............................................................ that chance! My younger son David, (travel)
............................................................. around the world for ten months now. I think I begin to miss
them!
Mixed tenses
PUT THE VERBS IN BRACKETS INTO THE CORRECT TENSE (SIMPLE PRES./PRESENT
CONTINUOUS/BE GOING TO/SIMPLE PAST/PAST CONTINUOUS/ PRESENT PERFECT)
Susan Brown is a writer of detective stories. She (become) famous in 1986 when she (publish) her
first book "The mystery of the Black Window". At that time she (live) in Manchester and she (be)
not married. After the great success of the book she (go) to live in London where she (meet) her
present husband, Alan Parker. In 1990 they (buy) a house in Chelsea and (get married). On
November 23rd 1991 their daughter Caroline (be born).
Susan (like) travelling and she always (meet) a lot of interesting people; but she also (want) to stay
with her family, and so Alan and Caroline often (follow) her. She (just/finish) a book about the
murder of an international spy. She (recently/receive) a win for her last book, "The Man of the
Night". We asked her why she wrote a story about a spy and she (reply):"While Alan and I (clean)
our new house in Chelsea, we (notice) that the previous tenant(=affittuario) had left a black box in
the cellar. There (be) some documents inside, and they were in a strange language. I (read) them
when my husband (cry) out:"Susan, they are written in Russian!". So we (go) to Scotland Yard and
they (tell) us that the previous tenant was a strange man who (disappear) under mysterious
circumstances...They (think) he was a spy! So I (take) inspiration from that episode to write a spy-
story." Now Susan (be) in Rome. She (never be) in Rome before; she (stay) there for a fortnight,
then she (visit) Venice.
YOU WORK FOR A MAGAZINE AND YOU HAVE TO INTERVIEW WIN HOPKINS, A
FAMOUS WRITER OF SPY STORIES ABOUT THE FIRST TIME SHE MET HER HUSBAND.
HERE IS YOUR INTERVIEW, BUT YOU HAVE TO INSERT THE CORRECT TENSES!
" I remember I [be] about 19. I [go] to dance at a village hall. I [go] with my best friend, Marjorie.
She [be] very pretty, she
[always/be] very pretty to tell the truth! All the boys [like] her at that time. They all [want] to dance
with her. I [not/enjoy] dancing very much; I [be] always quite shy.
I [sit] at a table in the corner of the dance hall. No one [ask] me to dance. After about an hour,
Marjorie [come] up to me and [say], " [go] and [ask] one of the boys to dance! You [can/not] just sit
here!".
It [be] awful. I [hate] every minute of it! In the end she [ask] one of her friends to [go .... ask] me for
a dance. I [be] so embarrassed! Anyway a boy [come] up and we [start] danc.....His name [be] Nick
and he [be] very nice. Then we [eat] delicious cakes and [drink] champagne. I [confess] I almost
[get] drunk! He [ask] me to go to the cinema the next day. That [be] the start of it. A year later he
[ask] me to marry him. We [be] married >....ten years and we now [have] three children; we [be]
very happy. We [live] in London ...... 1984, but I think we [move] to a smaller town; we
[want/children/grow up] in the countryside.
I [still/see] Marjorie quite often. She [always/say], "You [must/not] sit and wait for things to
happen. You [must] go out and make them [happen]." I [think] she [be] right.
WRITE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS (Pres. Simple, Pr. Continuous, Past
Simple, Pres. Perfect, Be going to) MAKE CHANGES WHERE NECESSARY!
Ann is married with Tom Longbridge. They ........[get] married in 1989. Tom .........[find] a good job
at Bronson & Caster, an important factory [=fabbrica] in Manchester: they ........[produce] electrical
engines [=motori]. They often ........[sell] their engines to Italian firms[=ditte], and Tom
usually .........[go] to Italy once [=una volta] a month to ..........[show] how the engines work. The
English factory .......................[recently/receive] a substantial order
from Italy and so Tom .....................[just/go] to Rome.
Now Ann is in the sitting room; she .............[read] a letter from Tom. He says he ...............[work]
very hard at the moment but he ,..........[like] his job.
Ann is a nurse; she ...........[graduate/REGULAR VERB] five years ago; after that she ..........[go] to
Manchester, and there she ..........
[meet] Tom; he ...........[become] her husband two years later. They
now have a daughter: she .......[be] born in 1991. Her name .......[be]
Laura. Tom, Ann and Laura are a happy family; next month they .........
[fly] to Spain. They ..............[visit] Granada, Sevilla and Madrid:
they ....................[like] it!
Last weekend Tom and I ..........[go] to Edinburgh by train from London. Edinburgh ..........[be] in
Scotland and it .......[be] one of
the most beautiful cities in the world. We .............[stay] at a hotel in Princes Street. It .........[be]
cold and windy when we .....
,....[arrive]; on Saturday morning we .......[get] up early and ,.......[have] breakfast. [you/ever
/eat].............................
porridge? Well, try it: it .......[be] delicious! Then we ............
[walk] down Princes Street and .........[look] at the lovely shops. We ,.......[visit] the castle and
we ........[enjoy] sitting in the gardens. We .......[not go] out in the evening because we ........[be] too
tired, but we .....[spend] the night at the hotel and we .........
[talk] to some people from America.
Now I ......[be] at home; [I/just/come back] ....................
I ..........[sit] on the sofa and I .........[drink] a nice cup of
hot tea. [I/usually/have] ........................some tea when I am tired and cold. Tomorrow I .............
[wake up] early because I want to go shopping; I ..........[have] a big party for Tom's birthday, but
he .........[not know] it!
Mixed tenses