Grammar Review

The following passages contain errors in verb tense. Identify and correct these
errors. 

In the Lab

During the Science session, the teacher give a lecture at the blackboard, and the students
examine their test tubes, but when the principal walk in, the room fall silent, except for
one group of students who continued discussing the science experiment. They don’t notice
the principal ,they were so focused on what they were doing .By the time the teacher finish
, they see the principal approaching. They think they were in trouble. To their surprise, the
principal greeted them and expresses her admiration of their hard work.

Read the following passage. Find the 8 verb tense errors. Make changes so
that they are in the appropriate form.

I believe that cigarette companies should not be allowed to advertise their products on
billboards and in magazines. Advertising encouraged people to smoke. In the meantime,
the society try to discourage people from smoking. Getting rid of cigarette advertising
would be one way to do this. We already ban cigarette ads from radio and television. We
did this because those ads encourage people to smoke. For the same reason, we should
ban all cigarette ads, not just the ones on radio and television.

For decades some people argue that, since young people didn’t read many magazines or
see billboards, it is not important to ban these ads. I disagree with this point of view. First,
we see plenty of billboards, whenever we’re in a car on the highway. Also, we usually saw
cigarette ads in magazines. Second, this argument assume that it’s okay for adults to
smoke. It was not !
Smoking is just as bad for adults as it is for children. We should be trying to get everyone to
stop smoking, including adults after all diseases caused by cigarettes cost our society
millions of dollars every year. Smoking killed people. Banning billboard and magazine
advertisements would help us reach that goal.

Correct the verb between brackets:

Exercise A:
A: Look! Buster …………..(sleep) in the armchair!
B:I know. He ……………..(sleep) there every day.

A:I ……………………..(look) for him outside for half an hour, you know. When I didn’t find him
outside I thought, “He will probably be inside.”
B:Well, you ………………(find) him.

A:How long ………..he ………………….(lie) there?
B: Look, he ………………………..(dream).He ………………..(move) his tail for an hour.

Exercise B:

She ……………(have) blonde hair and a pale face. Before the men ………………..(ask) her what
the problem …………..(be) she …………………(run) right into Ronald, and ……………………(knock)
him down to the ground. Harold …………………….(offer) to help Ronald, and by the time he
………………….(be) back on his feet, the woman………………… (go). To this day, Harold and
Ronald have no idea where she ……………(go).
Exercise C:

Harold Black's a famous pianist. He________________(9: give) two or three concerts every
week. He ________________(10: travel) a lot and this week he's in New York.
He________________(11: stay) at an expensive hotel. He's at his hotel now.
He________________(12: have) his breakfast in the dining−room.
He________________(13: drink) a cup of coffee and he________________(14: read) a
newspaper. Harold's always very busy. He________________(15: play) the piano regularly.
He________________(16: practise) for four hours every day. He________________(17:
go) to bed late and he always ________________(18: get up) early. But he
sometimes________________(19: get) dressed too quickly, and this morning
he________________(20: wear) one blue sock and one red one!