VERB TENSES – EXERCISES WITH ANSWERS

Do the exercises below and then look at the answers and correct them:

1. Complete the sentences with the correct form of come or go:

1. Peter often…comes……..to visit us. We like him to…come………, but he never knows when
to…go...…. home!
2. Shall we…go………..and see Jane next weekend? She …came………….back from
Edinburgh yesterday.
3. What time did you……go…………..to the doctor’s yesterday?
4. ‘Will you……come……..here, please? I want to show you something.’ ‘Okay. I’ll …………
go………as soon as I can.’
5. ‘Can I …go……….. and visit you tomorrow?’ ‘Of course! You’re welcome to ……come……
any time!’
6. We ……went…………. to Brighton yesterday. It was lovely!
7. We ……came……………. to live in Manchester in 1965 and we’ve felt very happy here.
8. Tim’s five. He……is going……………to school now.
2. Complete the following sentences with take or bring.

1. I’ve got a lot of money in my bag. I must……take……………it to the bank immediately.

2. Could you……take…………….those letters to the post office for me?
3. John’s very thoughtful. Whenever he comes, he always……brings……………flowers.
4. You mustn’t forget to……take……………..those books back to the library.
5. If we go by car, we can ………take…………….the dog with us.
6. Colin’s going to………bring………………his new car round to show us.
7. You can……take…………….my dictionary home with you if you like, but please don’t forget to
……bring………………….it back tomorrow.
8. Mrs. Lewis said she would………bring…………………the books here, to the office for me.
9. Oh dear, I forgot to …………take……………….the car to the garage.
10. When you drive to Bristol, will you…………take…………..me with you.
3. Complete the paragraph with the correct tense of the verb in brackets:

In 1271 Marco Polo and his father and uncle (1)………made…………………. (make) the long
journey to China. They (2) ……had to…………………….. (have to) cross snowy mountains and hot
deserts. They (3)………saw………………… (see) strange and wonderful things – great cities,
beautiful gardens and ancient cave paintings. They (4)………visited……………… (visit) huge
markets where people from all over the world (5)……bought…………………. (buy) and (6) ……………
sold…………… (sell) their goods – colourful carpets, strange fruit, animals and birds. After three
years Marco Polo (7)………entered……………. (enter) Cathay through the Great Wall of China.
In 1275, he (8)………met……………. (meet) Kublai Khan, the Emperor in his Summer Palace.
The palace was made of bamboo (a type of grass), gold and silk. It was like a huge tent, and the
Emperor’s servants (9)………could……………… (can) take it down and move it from place to place!
The Emperor (10)……gave………………………. (give) Marco a present of six white horses.
Marco (11)……………spent………………. (spend) eighteen years in China, much of the time
in Cambuluc, the capital. Cambuluc (12)……was…………………. (be) square with straight roads,
and looked like a chessboard. It (13)…………had……………… (have) a huge clock which was more
accurate than any clock in Europe. In the palace, over a thousand people (14)……could………………
(can) eat, but they all (15)……had to………………… (have to) sit at tables lower than Kublai Khan.
On the Emperor’s birthday, soldiers (16) ………rode……………… (ride) 5,000 elephants through the
city! Marco was lucky to see two great cities of the thirteenth century, Cambuluc and Venice.

4. Fill in the gaps in the text using the verbs in the box below in the correct tense
(present & past simple, present perfect):

A lot of things (1) ……have changed…………………… (change) in my life since I (2) ………
took…………………… (take) a job as a babysitter a few months ago. Now I (3) ………
spend…………………… (spend) every evening looking after children so I (4) …havent been
out………………………… (not/go out) with my friends for weeks. I (5) ……found……………………
(find) the job rather difficult at the beginning because I (6) ………wasnt used……………… (not / be)
used to it. My first day (7) ……………was…………… (be) awful. The children (8) ……
screamed………………… (scream) all the time, and I nearly (9) ……decided ………………… (decide)
to give up. But since then, I (10) ………have had………………… (have) more success. I (11) ……
ussualy play………………… (usually / play) with the children but I (12) ………have also
learnt…………………… (also / learn) a lot of stories recently so I (13) ……can………………………
(can) tell them to the children. I (14) …have…earned……………………… (earn) quite a lot of money
in the past six weeks too, so I (15) ………f am eeling…………………… (feel) quite happy at the
moment. My friends (16) ………laugh…………………… (laugh) at me though, and (17) ……………
say……………… (say) I (18) ……have choosen……………………… (choose) the wrong job. I (19)
……………told……………… (tell) them that times (20) ……have changed………………………
(change), and that men and women (21) …………have become………………… (become) equal.
Why can’t a man be a baby sitter?

5. Complete the gaps in the following text with the Present simple and Continuous or Present
perfect, where there are adverbs put them in the correct place:

Teenage Life

Each week, we ask teenagers to write about their lives. This week, Suzy tells us about her
brother Jake.

My younger brother Jake (1) ………has……………. (have) a problem and I (2) ………think……….
(think) it’s a problem which many people (3) ……dont understand……………. (not / understand).
He’s dyslexic, which (4) ……means………………. (mean) that he (5) ……sometin¿mes
gets………………. (sometimes / get) letters mixed up: he might write ‘poeple’ instead of ‘people’, for
example.
 He (6) ……has been ………………. (be) dyslexic since he was a child, but until recently nobody
(7) ……has ever given……………. (ever / give) him any help. Fortunately, one of the teachers at his
new school (8) ………knows………………. (know) about dyslexia. This term he (9) ……has
had……………. (have) a lot of help and next term the school (10) ……is sending……………. (send)
him to special classes. At the moment he (11) ………is learning………………. (learn) some
techniques for remembering words. Since his teachers started to help him, they (12) …have…
noticed…………………. (notice) an improvement in his work and over the past month or two he (13)
………has become……………………. (become) more independent and confident, which is great.
People (14) …………sometimes forgets…………………. (sometimes / forget) that we all (15) ……
need…………………. (need) a bit of help at times.
Suzy

ANSWERS

1. Complete the sentences with the correct form of come or go:

1. Peter often…comes…..to visit us. We like him to……come…, but he never knows when to…
go…. home!
2. Shall we……go…..and see Jane next weekend? She …came….back from Edinburgh
yesterday.
3. What time did you……go……..to the doctor’s yesterday?
4. ‘Will you…come…..here, please? I want to show you something.’ ‘Okay. I’ll …go……as soon
as I can.’
5. ‘Can I …go….. and visit you tomorrow?’ ‘Of course! You’re welcome to ……come… any
time!’
6. We …went……. to Brighton yesterday. It was lovely!
7. We ……came……. to live in Manchester in 1965 and we’ve felt very happy here.
8. Tim’s five. He……is going……to school now.
2. Complete the following sentences with take or bring.

1. I’ve got a lot of money in my bag. I must……take………it to the bank immediately.

2. Could you………take….those letters to the post office for me?
3. John’s very thoughtful. Whenever he comes, he always……brings………flowers.
4. You mustn’t forget to……take…..those books back to the library.
5. If we go by car, we can …take…….the dog with us.
6. Colin’s going to……bring………his new car round to show us.
7. You can……take….my dictionary home with you if you like, but please don’t forget to ………
bring…….it back tomorrow.
8. Mrs. Lewis said she would………bring……the books here, to the office for me.
9. Oh dear, I forgot to ………take………….the car to the garage.
10. When you drive to Bristol, will you……take………..me with you.
*********************
3. Complete the paragraph with the correct tense of the verb in brackets:

In 1271 Marco Polo and his father and uncle (1)……made…………. (make) the long journey to
China. They (2) ………had to……….. (have to) cross snowy mountains and hot deserts. They (3)
………saw……… (see) strange and wonderful things – great cities, beautiful gardens and ancient
cave paintings. They (4)……visited……… (visit) huge markets where people from all over the world
(5)………bought……. (buy) and (6) ……sold…… (sell) their goods – colourful carpets, strange fruit,
animals and birds. After three years Marco Polo (7)……entered……. (enter) Cathay through the
Great Wall of China.
In 1275, he (8)……met……. (meet) Kublai Khan, the Emperor in his Summer Palace. The
palace was made of bamboo (a type of grass), gold and silk. It was like a huge tent, and the
Emperor’s servants (9)………could…… (can) take it down and move it from place to place! The
Emperor (10)……gave…. (give) Marco a present of six white horses.
Marco (11)……spent……. (spend) eighteen years in China, much of the time in Cambuluc, the
capital. Cambuluc (12)……was……. (be) square with straight roads, and looked like a chessboard. It
(13)…………had…… (have) a huge clock which was more accurate than any clock in Europe. In the
palace, over a thousand people (14)…could …… (can) eat, but they all (15)…had to……… (have to)
sit at tables lower than Kublai Khan. On the Emperor’s birthday, soldiers (16) ……rode……… (ride)
5,000 elephants through the city! Marco was lucky to see two great cities of the thirteenth century,
Cambuluc and Venice.

************************************
4. Fill in the gaps in the text using the verbs in the box below in the correct tense
(present & past simple, present perfect):

A lot of things (1) ………have changed…… (change) in my life since I (2) …………took…… (take) a
job as a babysitter a few months ago. Now I (3) ……spend……… (spend) every evening looking after
children so I (4) ……haven’t been out……… (not/go out) with my friends for weeks. I (5) ……
found……… (find) the job rather difficult at the beginning because I (6) …was not used……… (not /
be) used to it. My first day (7) ……was……… (be) awful. The children (8) ……screamed………
(scream) all the time, and I nearly (9) ………decided…… (decide) to give up. But since then, I (10)
……have had…… (have) more success. I (11) ……usually play…… (usually / play) with the children
but I (12) ……have also learnt…… (also / learn) a lot of stories recently so I (13) ……can……… (can)
tell them to the children. I (14) ……have earned……… (earn) quite a lot of money in the past six
weeks too, so I (15) …am feeling………… (feel) quite happy at the moment. My friends (16) ………
laugh……… (laugh) at me though, and (17) ……say……… (say) I (18) ……have chosen………
(choose) the wrong job. I (19) ……tell……… (tell) them that times (20) ……have changed………
(change), and that men and women (21) ………have become……… (become) equal. Why can’t a
man be a baby sitter?
****************************

5. Complete the gaps in the following text with the Present simple and Continuous or Present
perfect, where there are adverbs put them in the correct place:

Teenage Life

Each week, we ask teenagers to write about their lives. This week, Suzy tells us about her
brother Jake.
 My younger brother Jake (1) ………has……. (have) a problem and I (2) ……think……. (think) it’s a
problem which many people (3) …don’t understand…. (not / understand). He’s dyslexic, which (4)
……means……. (mean) that he (5) …sometimes gets………. (sometimes / get) letters mixed up: he
might write ‘poeple’ instead of ‘people’, for example.
He (6) ……has been……. (be) dyslexic since he was a child, but until recently nobody (7) ………
has ever given……. (ever / give) him any help. Fortunately, one of the teachers at his new school (8)
………knows………. (know) about dyslexia. This term he (9) ……has had…. (have) a lot of help and
next term the school (10) …is sending……. (send) him to special classes. At the moment he (11)
………is learning……. (learn) some techniques for remembering words. Since his teachers started to
help him, they (12) ……have noticed………. (notice) an improvement in his work and over the past
month or two he (13) ……has become………. (become) more independent and confident, which is
great.
People (14) ……sometimes forget……. (sometimes / forget) that we all (15) ……need……. (need)
a bit of help at times.
Suzy