The Tenses

The Present Simple & the Present Continuous Tenses

The Present Simple Tense

I read. Do I read? I don’t read.

You read. Do you read? You don’t read.
He reads. Does he read? He doesn’t read.

Spelling rules:
-verbs which end in –sh, -ch, -x, -ss, -o, -z form the third person singular with –es (e.g. He
washes/ watches TV/ goes home.)
-verbs which end in -y preceded by a consonant, -y changes into –i before –es (e.g. try-tries)

Expresses:
-repeated, habitual action e.g. I go to school every day.
-eternal, scientific truth e.g. The sun rises in the east.
-a state or single action at the present moment e.g. She looks ill.
-future action part of an official programme e.g. We leave London at 8 p.m. and we arrive
at Vienna at 1 p.m.

Time-indicators:
always, often, frequently, usually, generally, normally, occasionally, sometimes, rarely, seldom,
hardly ever, never, every day/week/year, once a week/month, twice a year etc.)

Peter is always late for school.

I often read at night.
I usually get up early.
I usually go running but I never go swimming.
He sometimes does his homework on Monday.
She seldom cries but often laughs.
She paints every evening.
He goes to ballet classes twice a week.

The Present Continuous Tense

I am reading. Am I reading? I am not reading.

You are reading. Are you reading? You aren’t reading.
He is reading. Is he reading? He isn’t reading.

Spelling rules:
-silent –e is dropped before the suffix –ing (e.g. He is coming.)
- -y remains unchanged before the suffix –ing (e.g. He is crying.)
-the final consonant is doubled before –ing when the preceding vowel is stressed and marked by
one letter (e.g. He is planning a trip. He is swimming.)
-the final consonant is doubled before the suffix -ing if the verb ends in –l (e.g. He is controlling
the ship. He is travelling abroad.)
-the final consonant is doubled before –ing if the verb ends in –ap or –ip and if the stress is on
the first syllable (e.g. kidnapping, worshipping)
-verbs that end in –ie change this to –y before –ing (e.g. die-dying, lie-lying, tie-tying)

Expresses:
-action happening at the moment of speaking e.g. I am writing now.
-a temporary habit e.g. He is writing another novel.
-a future action planned in the present e.g. I am leaving tomorrow.

Time-indicators:
now, at the moment, at the present, right now, just now.

I am studying now.
Where are you living at the moment?
I am sitting in a pink bathtub.
Where are you going right now?

Verbs not normally used in continuous tenses:

a) verbs expressing physical or mental perception:

e.g. see, hear, smell, taste, feel, notice, observe
-they are often used with can e.g. I can’t see what he is doing.
b) non-conclusive verbs: (verbs denoting thought, will, emotion and involuntary activities)
e.g. believe, feel, think, know, understand, remember, forget, recollect, suppose, mean, gather,
want, wish, forgive, refuse, love, hate, like, dislike, care, seem, appear, belong, consist of,
possess, matter, have (possess), expect etc.

I know him.
I remember everything.
I want to break free.
I love cats.

! Verbs of perception and non-conclusive verbs may be found in continuous tenses when they
denote voluntary activities with a change of meaning.

The doctor is seeing another patient.

Tom is seeing sights.
Which judge is hearing the case?
He is smelling the roses.
Mary is tasting the cake.
He is feeling his pulse.
I am expecting a letter.
He is having breakfast.
He is having the tap mended.
I am thinking.

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan)

Exercises

1. Choose the best endings for sentences 1 – 8.

1. Fiona is watching television.
a) because her favourite star is on.
b) when she has time.
2. I’m having my lunch
a) at one o’ clock every day.
b) early today as I have an appointment.
3. I do the shopping
a) at the same time every day.
b) today for a friend who’s ill.
4. What are you doing
a) to your sister when she behaves badly?
b) to your sister? Leave her alone!
5. I wear casual clothes
a) at the weekend.
b) because we are having a party at lunchtime.
6. Teachers work hard
a) to get the concert ready for this week.
b) but they het long holidays.
7. The company’s financial situation is improving
a) now that it has a new Chief Executive.
b) when there is greater demand for its products.
8. Serge is thinking of retiring early
a) every time something bad happens at work.
b) because he isn’t happy at work anymore.

2. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

1. I’m busy right now. I ‘m filling in (fill in) an application form for a new job.
2. My tutor sees (see) me for a tutorial every Monday at two o’clock.
3. John isn’t studying (not / study) very hard at the moment. I don’t think (not / think) he’ll
pass his exams.
4. What’s he doing (he / do)? He’s trying (try) to fix the television areal.
5. Animals breathe in (breathe in) oxygen and give out (give out) carbon dioxide.
6. Be quiet! I want (want) to hear the news.
7. In my country we drive (drive) on the right-hand side of the road.
8. My friend Joe’s parents are travelling (travel) round the world this summer, and probably he
won’t be back for a couple of months.
9. The college runs (run) the same course every year.
10. The number of wild butterflies falling (fall) as a result of changes in farming methods.

3. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the box in the correct present tense.

agree, catch up, cause, have, go up, know, think, use

We 1 use energy for three main things: electricity production, heating and transport. For the first
two, we 2 have options such as solar and wind power, or natural gas. But oil is still the world’s
number one source of energy, and for transport at least, there is currently no alternative. In
China, domestic energy consumption 3 is going up year by year and demand in similar regions 4
is catching up fast. We 5 know how to use energy more efficiently now than in the past but the
worldwide rise in demand 6 is causing concern amongst experts. Some experts 7 think that oil
supplies will start to fall within the next twenty years. Most experts 8 agree that we need to find
a new source of energy soon.

4. Correct the sentences in both extracts. There are six incorrect words.

a) From the graphs, we are seeing that the number of employees employed by this firm
increases year by year and the number of employees leaving after less than five years
decreases.
b) The sun heats the ground. This is warming the air nearby and the warm air rises into the
sky. As the air is rising, it becomes cooler and the water vapour inside it change intro
droplets of water. These join together to form a cloud.
1. We are seeing - Can see
2. Increases - are increasing
3. Decrease - is decreasing
4. is warming - warms
5. Is rising - rises
6. change - changes
(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

The Past Simple, the Past Continuous Tenses, Used to

The Past Simple Tense

I worked/wrote. Did I work/write? I didn’t work/write.

You worked/wrote. Did you work/write? You didn’t work/write.
He worked/wrote. Did he work/write? He didn’t work/write.

Spelling rules:
-in regular verbs the past tense and past participle are formed by adding –d (when the verb ends
in –e) or –ed to the infinitive (e.g. close-closed, like-liked, open-opened, work-worked)
-verbs which end in –y preceded by a consonant change –y into –I before –ed (e.g. cry-cried, try-
tried)
-final –y remains unchanged if it is preceded by a vowel (e.g. enjoy-enjoyed)
-the final consonant is doubled before –ed when the preceding vowel is stressed and marked by
one letter (e.g. He planned a trip. He stopped the car.)
-the final consonant is doubled before the suffix -ed if the verb ends in –l (e.g. He controlled the
ship. He travelled abroad.)
-the final consonant is doubled before –ed if the verb ends in –ap or –ip and if the stress is on the
first syllable (e.g. kidnapped, worshipped)

Expresses:
-an action wholly completed at some point in the past e.g. He shot a rabbit yesterday.
-repeated actions e.g. Now and again I heard shots in the town.
-it is primarily the tense of narration e.g. Little Red Riding Hood decided to visit her Grandma.
But on the way to her house she met the evil wolf, which ate her. The wolf went to Grandma’s
house, swallowed the lovely old lady, too, but out of the sky turned up the hunter who killed the
wolf, opened its belly and the girl and her beloved Grandma climbed out safe and sound.

Time-indicators:
yesterday, the day before yesterday, yesterday morning/evening, last week/night, then, at that
time, when?, long/an hour/a day ago, now and again, every so often etc.

Prepositional phrases:
on Monday, before/after the first of January, at a quarter past nine, at noon, before/after
breakfast, in the morning/afternoon/evening, in January, in spring/summer, in 1944 etc.

Yesterday she came home late again.

He wrote a test the day before yesterday.
He went there then.
When did you last see her?
A year ago he was still a taxi driver.
The cat caught a mouse ten minutes ago.
Now and again I heard shots in the town.
Every so often I stopped to look at my map.
He got a hamster on Monday.
They got married in January.
He joined the party in 1950.

The Past Continuous Tense

I was reading. Was I reading? I wasn’t reading.

You were reading. Were you reading? You weren’t reading.
He was reading. Was he reading? He wasn’t reading.

Expresses:
-an action going on at a given past moment e.g. She was cooking at midday.
-an action that was going on at a time when something else happened e.g. She was sitting
at her desk when I came in.
-an action filling up the whole period of time in the past (when the action is considered in its
progress) e.g. It was raining all day yesterday.
-parallel actions: the two actions were going on at the same time e.g. While I was crying,
she was laughing.
-certain feelings (impatience, blame, praise etc) e.g. I thought you were never coming.

Time-indicators:
adverbials expressing a point of time (at 9 p.m.), sub-clauses of time (when, while), all day
yesterday, all the time etc,

She was sleeping at 9 p.m.

He was repairing the electricity when a short circuit killed him.
While he was playing golf, he was biting his lips.
At seven-thirty he wasn’t watching the news but he was bathing his son.
Were you sleeping during the show?
She was scratching her back during the whole film.
I was being followed all the time.
I was sitting on the lower stone of the quay watching the melon rind floating.

Used to

I used to go to the kindergarten. Did I use to go to …? I didn’t use to go …

You used to go to the kindergarten. Did you use to go to …? You didn’t use to
go ...

Expresses:

-repeated action or permanent state in the past

e.g. I used to play cards. (= I don’t play cards anymore.)
I used to be afraid of dogs. (= I am no longer afraid of them.)

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan)

Exercises

1. Fill in the gaps in this model answer with verbs from the list in the past simple.

allow, be, be, be, invent, increase, lay, mean, own, receive, replace, ride, take, walk

The pace of change in the world of technology is amazing. It 1 was not long ago that the
postal service 2 was our only way to communicate over any distance. It 3 took days and
sometimes weeks to receive letters from within the same country. As a result the news in the
letters 4 was already out of date when people 5 received them. In the workplace. This 6
meant that business was mostly conducted locally over relatively short distances. When
Alexander Graham Bell 7 invented the telephone in 1876 it 8 laid the foundation for the
communication systems we have today. The telephone 9 allowed two people to
communicate instantly across a great distance. Eventually computers 10 replaced typewriters
and dramatically 11 increased the speed of our daily work life. Nowadays the Internet is an
essential part or every business.

However, it is not just- communications that have changed. Only 50 years ago most people
did not 12 own a car. People 13 walked to work or 14 rode bicycles. Changes in travel as
well as the increased speed of communications have led to the global business world that we
have today

2. Fill in the gaps with the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs.

I 1 had (have) a wonderful biology teacher, Mrs Hughes. She 2 made (make) us excited
about the subject because she was so interested herself. I remember one lesson in particular;
we 3 were studying (study) different types of plants, and Mrs Hughes 4 was describing
(describe) the different parts of the flower. She 5 picked up (pick up) a purple flower, I can’t
remember exactly what it was, and then suddenly we 6 noticed (notice) that she 7 was
cryinng (cry)! She 8 apologised (apologise) and 9 said (say) that sometimes nature was so
beautiful it just made her cry! We 10 did not know (not/know) what to do at first, but it
certainly 11 made (make) us think. Something similar 12 happened (happen) while she 13
was showing (show) us how to work the microscope. She 14 was examining (examine) a
slide of some plant tissue and she 15 was smiling (smile) all over her face. She suddenly
16 got (get) all excited and 17 said (say), ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ Some students 18 laughed
(laugh) at her when she 19 wasn’t look (not/look) but I didn’t. Somehow her enthusiasm 20
inspired (inspire) me, and I 21 started (start) to like biology.

3. A teacher and a student are talking about local customs. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in
brackets in the correct form. Use used to where possible.

Teacher: What sort of things 1 did you use to do (you / do) as a child?
Yoko: Oh, when I was a child growing up in Japan there were many customs that we 2
would follow (follow). For example, I remember we 3 moved(move) house when I was
seven and we 4 visited (visit) our new neighbours with gifts. At that time the tradition was
that people 5 would give (give) gifts of Japanese noodles, but it is different now and people
tend to give things like soap or towels or nothing at all.
Teacher: 6 did you use to have (have) one tradition that you particularly remember?
Yoko: Yes, one tradition that I 7 really used to like (really / like) was in the spring when the
cherry blossoms were out. As a family we 8 used to go (go) into the countryside and we 9
used to spend (spend) the day eating, drinking and singing. One year my father 10 took
(take) a lovely photo of me and my sisters and I still keep that picture on my wall today.
Teacher: And 11 did you use to have to (you / have to) do anything you didn’t like?
Yoko: Yes. I remember we 12 used to have to (have to clean) the house thoroughly. My
sisters and I 13 didn't use to look forward to (not / look forward to) it very much!

4. Correct the underlined verbs where necessary. Some of them are right.
 I remember a trip I once 1 made to my grandmother’s house. She 2 was living about 30
kilometres away from us and we 3 used to going there quite often with our mother. On this
occasion we 4 set off to my grandmother’s after school on a cold winter’s day. When we
were about to leave we 5 were noticing that some snow was beginning to fall, and as we 6
were driving along we 7 were realising that it 8 snowed more and more heavily. Suddenly we
had to brake hard as the car in front stopped suddenly. We 9 were skidding and 10 went off
the road into a ditch! It was pretty scary, but we were lucky and none of us were hurt. We got
out of the car, and my mother 11 was phoning for help on her mobile phone. While we 12
waited for help it 13 was stopping snowing and we 14 sang lots of songs to keep us cheerful.
Eventually the truck 15 was coming and pulled our car out of the ditch. The car wasn’t badly
damaged, but we 16 decided to turn round and go home. We didn’t manage to see our
grandmother that day, but it was so frightening that I will never forget it.

1 made 8 was snowing 15 came

2 used to live 9 skidded 16 decided
3 used to go 10 went off
4 set off 11 phoned
5 noticed 12 waited
6 were driving 13 stopped
7 realised 14 sang

(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

The Present Perfect Simple & the Present Perfect Continuous Tenses

The Present Perfect Simple Tense

I have worked/written. Have I worked/written? I haven’t worked/written.

You have worked/written. Have you worked/written? You haven’t worked/written.
He has worked/written. Has he worked/written? He hasn’t worked/written.

Expresses:
-an action anterior to and including present e.g. He has learned the poem.
-an action which has just finished e.g. They have just gone out.
-an action whose time is not given e.g. They have invited us to tea.
-an action whose time is not definite e.g. We have not seen them lately.
-shows the present result of a past action e.g. They have closed the door.
-an action begun in the past and continued into the present or up to the present e.g. He
has used this car for ten years.
-an action which has happened during a time including the present e.g. She has
telephoned twice today.

Time-indicators:
just, already, yet, often, never, ever, before, always, lately, recently, today, this week/month, up
to now, so far, till now, until now, since, for etc.
They have just eaten the soup.
They have already finished their work. Have they already finished their work?
Have you paid the bill yet? I haven’t paid it yet.
She has often visited her uncle.
I have never been to Japan.
Have you ever failed an exam?
Haven’t we met somewhere before?
She has always bought the best coffee.
We have not seen them lately.
Have you bought anything recently.
He has spent fifty pounds today.
They have played football twice this week.
Up to now/so far/till now/until now we have been so lucky.
He has used his car for ten years. (for = period of time up to now)
John has been ill since Friday. (since = starting moment up to now)
How long has he been ill?

The Present Perfect Continuous Tense

I have been reading. Have I been reading? I haven’t been reading.

You have been reading. Have you been reading? You haven’t been reading.
He has been reading. Has he been reading? He hasn’t been reading.

Expresses:
-the same kind of action as the present perfect, but the action is very often still happening
e.g. He has been teaching us for two years.
-emphasizes the length of time the action has taken e.g. I have been thinking of you since
summer.

Time-indicators:
how long? - for/ since when? – since

He has been teaching us for two years. (= He started to teach us two years ago, and he is still
teaching us.)
It has been raining since three o’clock. (= It started to rain at three o’clock, and it is still raining.)
He has been working harder since he failed the exam. (= He began working harder after he had
failed the exam.)
How long have you been studying English?
Since when have you been waiting for her?
He has been snoring since his tonsils were removed.
I have been thinking of mum for a week.

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan)

Exercises
1. Tick the correct underlined verbs, and correct the verbs that are wrong.

I would like to be considered for your degree course in zoology, starting in October next
year. I feel I am a good candidate for this course as I 1 have always been interested in natural
history and even as a child I 2 have enjoyed studying animals and insects in my garden. Your
science faculty has a good reputation and I would like very much to be part of it.
As you 3 already saw in Section A of this application, I have a good academic record and I 4
just received the results of my recent exams, all of which 5 have been excellent.
In addition, your university attracts me because I enjoy sports and I 6 have read in your
prospectus about the large number of sports on offer. Last year I 7 have represented my
school at badminton and I 8 played in football teams since I was eleven. I 9 have recently
joined basketball team which competes at a national level.
I 10 did not travel abroad much yet, although as a young child I 11 have been to Singapore
and Hong Kong with my family. I realise that I 12 have not spent much time away from
home up to now, but am keen to become more independent.
1 Have always been 8 have played
2 Enjoyed. 9 have recently joined
3 have already seen. 10 have not travelled
4 have just received. 11 went
5 were. 12 have not spent
6 Have read
7 Represented

2. Fill in the gaps with the past simple or present perfect simple of the verbs in brackets.

1. The chart shows the percentage of British adults who have used (use) the Internet since
1995.
2. The number of women who have ever used the Internet has increased (increase) by more
than 60% since 1995.
3. The percentage of men who have accessed the Internet rose (rise) to 60% in 2005.
4. The number of women who have accessed the Internet has risen (rise) each year.
5. The percentage of men who used the internet was (be) greater than the percentage of
women from 1995 to 2005.
6. However, British women has overtaken (overtake) British men in internet usage since
2005.
7. The total number of people accessing the Internet has grown (grow) each year although
the most significant rise occurred (occur) between 1995 and 2000.

3. Underline the correct forms of verbs.

Dear Paul

1 I’ve just received / I’ve just been receiving your message to us all about the seminar on
Friday. 2 I’ve worked / I’ve been working on my presentation for the last week, and 3 have
now finished / now finished it, so I am happy to be one of the first to present it. However, 4
I’ve made / I made an appointment to see the university career advisor immediately after the
seminar, so I will need to leave on time.

I’d like some advice about my presentation. At last week’s lecture 5 you’ve said / you said
that we should use visual aids as much as possible. 6 I haven’t found / I didn’t find anything
to use. Is it essential? 7 I’ve done / I did lots of presentations before, and I feel OK about this
one. In my last presentation 8 I used / I have been using the overhead projector, and I want to
do this again – does this count as a visual aid?

One last question: 9 I’ve been / I went to Professor Russel’s lecture yesterday, and 10 have
been learning / learnt quite a lot that is relevant to this course. Is it okay to refer to another
course in my presentation/ 11 I’ve been wondering / I wondered about this – maybe it is
better to stick materials and references 12 you’ve given / you’ve been giving us. I hope you
can let me know.

Thanks for help.

Sue

4. Fill in the gaps with a verb from the list in the present perfect simple or present perfect
continuous. You will need to use some of the verbs more than once.

be, do, feel, have, live, pass, study, start, take, travel, want, work

Interviewer: How long 1 … … (you) here?

Student: I 2 ‘ve been living in London for the past three years. I come from Japan originally.
I 3 ‘ve been studying at college since I arrived.
Interviewer: 4 have you done (you) any travelling over the past three years?
Student: Yes, 5 I’ve been really lucky. I have long holidays so I 6 ‘ve travelled all over
Europe. I especially liked Spain.
Interviewer: What is the most interesting thing you 7 have done recently?
Student: Well, I 8 ‘ve started to play tennis, and I 9 ‘ve just passed singing lessons for a few
months now too. But the thing that I am most proud of is that I 10 … … (just) my driving
test. It’s the first time I 11 … … it so I’m really pleased but I 12 … … (never) so nervous in
all my life!
Interviewer: How do you think English will be useful in your life?
Student: I 13 … … a Tourism course over here, so I need English for my studies and my job.
I 14 … … (always) to work in the tourist industry because I 15 … … (always) interested in
history and cultural sites, and I 16 … … (already) as a tour guide in my home town.

5. Answer the questions.

1. How long have you been studying English?

2. Have you studied any other languages? (Which ones? For how long?)
3. Have you travelled very much? (Where have you been to?)
4. What have you been doing to prepare for this class?
 5. How has your life changed over the past two years?

(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

The Past Perfect Simple & the Past Perfect Continuous Tenses

The Past Perfect Simple Tense

I had worked/written. Had I worked/written? I hadn’t worked/written.

You had worked/written. Had you worked/written? You hadn’t worked/written.
He had worked/written. Had he worked/written? He hadn’t worked/written.

Expresses:
-a single action or repeated actions which took place before a given past moment
-the past moment from which the accomplished action is viewed may be clear from the text (e.g.
I was angry with him because he had forgotten to post the letter.), fixed by an adverbial (e.g.
Everything had been prepared by then.), fixed by another action (e.g. By the time the bell rang,
we had already done all the exercises.)
-an action begun before a given past moment (e.g. She had been ill for two weeks when I learnt
about it.)
-an action that was prevented or stopped before it was completed (e.g. They had an accident
before they had driven ten miles.)

Time-indicators:
already, by the time, by five o’clock, after, before, as soon as, hardly, scarcely, no sooner,
for/since … when…, how long … when…? etc.

By the time the train got to the station, the train had already left.
My hair had turned grey by the time I wrote this.
After he had eaten it, he got sick.
By the time the hunter loaded his gun, the hare had already run away.
Before she ran away she had put a carrot into the muzzle of the rifle.
He went to the army as soon as he had finished his studies.
She went mad when she saw I hadn’t bought bread.
I hadn’t thought of death until I met the devil.
Hardly had I sat down when the phone rang.
Scarcely had I opened the door when a gust of wind blew the candle out.
How long had you been at home when I rang you up?

The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

I had been reading. Had I been reading? I hadn’t been reading.

You had been reading. Had you been reading? You hadn’t been reading.
He had been reading Had he been reading? He hadn’t been reading.

Expresses:
-an action begun before a given moment in the past and continued into the past moment or come
very close up to that past moment (e.g. By that time he had been teaching us for two years.)
-a previous action whose result is still continuing at a given past moment although the action
itself has ceased (e.g. Why did you feel tired? – Because I had been working hard all day.)
Time-indicators:
by…, for/since…, how long?, sub-clauses of time (when/before/after)

He had been sitting at the fox-hole for hours when at last a bunny showed up.
She had been driving in the traffic for less than 10 minutes when the examiner asked her to
change seats.
He had been typing for ten minutes when he saw there was no sheet in the typewriter.
When he woke up, the cock had been crowing for half an hour.
Why were you crying? – I was crying because I had been peeling onions.

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan)

Exercises

1. Fill in the gaps with the past perfect simple of the verbs in brackets in the positive or
negative.

According to Dr Ken Winke, Australia’s Red-back spider is colonizing the world. Dr Winke,
a venom expert from the University of Melbourne, said that authorities 1 … … (find)
Redback spiders in Japan and Belgium. They suspected that spiders or their eggs 2 … …
(enter) these countries along with Australian trading goods. Furthermore, it was extremely
likely that the spiders 3 … … (make) their way into other nations around the world but
people 4 … … (discover) them yet. Dr Winke said the spiders 5 … … (also / turn up) in the
port city of Osaka (which receives a variety of Australian trade goods) in the late 1990s and 6
… … (multiply) quickly. He said Australian spider experts were collaborating with Japanese
Officials to find a way to stop the venomous invader.

2. Complete the report with the past simple or past perfect simple of the verbs in brackets.

The chart shows the percentage of people aged 65 and over in the United States between
1900 and 2000. In the year 1900 just over 4% of the population 1 … … (be) aged over 65.
However, by 1960 this figure 2 … … (double).

The number of people aged between 15 and 84 3 … … (remain) fairly steady between 1900
and 1930, making up only 1-1.3% of the population. The figure 4 … … (begin) to rise more
significantly in 1940 and by 1970 it 5 … … (triple) to reach 3% of the population.

Although there 6 … … (be) no change in the number of people aged 65-74 between 1960
and 1970, the number of people aged 15 and over 7 … … (increase) during this time. By the
year 2000, 12.4% of the US population 8 … … (reach) the age of 65 or more, although this
was slightly lower than in 1990 when it 9 … … (peak) at 12.6%.
 The chart shows that today people in the United States can expect to live longer than in 1900.
By the year 2000 more than 12% of the population 10 … … (manage) to live to the age of 65
and over compared to only 4.1% in 1900.

3. Fill in the gaps with the past simple, past perfect simple or past perfect continuous of the
verbs in brackets.

1. She … … (work) as a waitress for five years when he met her.

2. The lecture … … (start) by the time they got there.
3. In the supermarket he … … (buy) all the ingredients he needed and then went home to
make her a birthday cake.
4. Holly did very well in her exam, which was a shock because she … … (never / take) an
exam before.
5. Scientists announced the launch of the new drug last week. They … … (develop) it for
five years.
6. By the time I got to the meeting they … … (already / discuss) the important issues.
7. I looked terrible when I saw Joe last night because I … … (run) for over an hour and I
was exhausted.

(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

The Future Simple Tense, The Present Continuous Tense for Future
Arrangements, Going to

The Future Simple Tense

I will read. Will I read? I won’t read.

You will read. Will you read? You won’t read.

Expresses:
-a single action or state that refers to future (e.g. I will speak to him tomorrow.)
-future events we haven’t arranged yet (e.g. We’ll probably stay in some sort of mountain lodge
there.)
-repeated or habitual actions (e.g. He will come here every other day.)
-an action of more general character giving a permanent characteristic to the subject (e.g. He will
make a very good teacher.)
-future action which is not controlled by human will but is dependent on external circumstances
(e.g. You will know the result next week.)
-the speaker’s opinion, assumptions, speculations about the future (e.g. I think it will snow
tomorrow.)
-predictions, usually based on our opinions or our past experience (e.g. I think it’ll be extremely
hot there.)
-something we decide to do at the time of speaking (e.g. Tell me all and I’ll pass on the
information to the rest of the team.)

Time-indicators:
tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, tomorrow morning/evening, next week/month/year, then,
soon, in a few minutes/hours etc.

I shall wash it tomorrow.

Will you go to the party the day after tomorrow?
I’ll be a fireman or a soldier.
I’ll marry you next year.
It will be ready in two minutes.
I shall go to the library twice a week.
She won’t believe this story.
I am sure they will come back.

The Present Continuous Tense for Future Arrangements

Expresses:

-plans or definite arrangements for the future (e.g. We are staying in a small hotel.)

Going to

I am going to see him. Am I going to see him? I’m not going to …

Yu are going to see him. Are you going to see him? You aren’t going to
…

Expresses:

-events in the future we have already thought about and intend to do (e.g. We’re going to hire a
bus.)
-predictions when there is present evidence (e.g. There are some black clouds. It’s going to rain.)
-strong intention (e.g. I’m going to leave him.)

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan; Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen:
Cambridge grammar for IELTS)

Exercises

1. Underline the most suitable form of the verbs.

Dear Paul and Claire

We’re having a wonderful time here in France. The weather is beautiful and we’ve got lots of
plans for how to spend the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow 1 we’re going out / we will go
out on a glass-bottomed boat to look at the wonderful sea life, and then on Wednesday we
think 2 we’re taking / we’ll take a tour of the old town. Ollie’s aunt lives quite close, so 3
we’re visiting / we’re going to visit her too if we have time.
 The hotel is lovely and lively and has lots of good night life. Tonight 4 they’re holding /
they’ll hold an international evening, with lots of food from different countries.

As you know, we’re here with our friends, John and Wendy, but 5 they aren’t staying / they
won’t stay as long as us, so 6 we’re probably doing / we’ll probably do the really ‘touristy’
things with them, and be lazy in our second week. You can hire small sailing boats for the
day, so we think 7 we’re doing / we’re going to do that next week, and 8 we’re also going to
try / we’re also trying to have time to do some shopping!

I hope you are ready for your big trip. 9 You’re loving / You’ll love Australia. In fact 10
you’re going to probably end up / you’ll probably end up staying there much longer than
you’ve planned.

Have a great time, and 11 we’re going to see / we’ll see you when you get back.

Love Kath and Ollie

2. Write sentences about yourself.

1. Write two intentions about your future.

2. Write three plans or arrangements for your future.
3. Predict three things that you think will happen to your faculty in the future.

(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

The Present Simple Tense for Future Timetables, Be about to, The Future
Continuous, The Future Perfect and the Future Perfect Continuous Tenses

The Present Simple Tense for Future Timetables

Expresses:

-timetables or schedules (e.g. The train to the airport leaves at 13.30.)

-in Time Clauses introduced by when, as soon as, after, before, until, as long as (e.g. I’ll be
feeling really nervous when I get to Rome. Will you do it before we have the departmental
meeting?)

Be about to

I am about to leave. Am I about to leave? I’m not about to leave.

You are about to leave. Are you about to leave? You aren’t about to leave.

Expresses:

-something likely to happen in the immediate future (e.g. I’m about to go to Rome for a
conference.)
The Future Continuous Tense

You will be reading. Will you be reading? You won’t be reading.

He will be reading. Will he be reading? He won’t be reading.

Expresses:
-an action going at a given future moment (e.g. What will you be doing at this time tomorrow?)
-an action filling up a whole period of time in the future (when the action is considered to be in
progress) (e.g. I shall be watching TV all evening.)
-an action characteristic of the subject at a given period of time in the future (e.g. We’ll be busy
in May. We’ll be preparing for our exams then.)
-to show that an event will occur as part of a plan or programme (e.g. I shall be seeing him
tomorrow.)
-an assumption about the future (e.g. I expect he’ll be feeling better tomorrow.)

Time-indicators:
at this time tomorrow, at five o’clock tomorrow, all day tomorrow, sub-clauses of time etc.

I will be playing with my baby at 10 o’clock this evening.

I will be playing the guitar at 5 tomorrow.
I will be painting all day tomorrow.
I will be watching TV while ironing.
It has just been on the news that it will be raining all next week.
According to the plans the chorus will be singing the refrain when the mayor enters.
I think they’ll be arriving soon.
I bet they’ll getting married soon.

The Future Perfect Tense

You will have written. Will you have written? You won’t have written.
He will have worked. Will he have worked. He won’t have worked.

Expresses:
-an action already completed at a given future moment
-the future moment from which the completed is viewed may be indicated by means of an
adverbial expression (e.g. By this time tomorrow they will have crossed the Channel.) or by
means of another action (e.g. We shall have finished this work when you return.)
-an action begun before a given future moment and still going on at the future moment (e.g. By
the first of July we shall have been here for a year.)

Time-indicators:
by this time tomorrow, by then, by next summer, a year from now, for… by… etc.

The plane will have landed by 6 tomorrow.

By the time you light a new candle, the other ones will have burnt down.
I will have written it by this afternoon.
By the time you count up to three, I will have it done.
By the time we get old, we will have saved enough money to buy a flat.
A year from now you will have forgotten all about me.
We will have walked a long way before we reach the sea.
You will have known each other for ten years by the end of this year.

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense

You will have been reading. Will you have been reading? You won’t have been reading.
He will have been reading. Will he have been reading? He won’t have been reading.

Expresses:
-an action begun before a given future moment and continued up to or into that future moment
(e.g. By next year I shall have been working in this factory for 15 years.)
-stresses the continuity of the action (e.g. By then they will have been staying here for a
fortnight.)

Time-indicators:
by this time tomorrow, by then, by next summer, a year from now, for… by… etc.

Next year he will have been working in China for four years.
When the sun sets she will have been lying in the sun for a day.
When the sun rises he will have been sleeping for half a day.
This time next year he will have been building his house for two years.
Tomorrow the tap will have been dropping for a year.

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan; Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen:
Cambridge grammar for IELTS)

Exercises
1. Complete the sentences using the future continuous tenses.

1. Twelve students … … (watch) TV on Saturday afternoon.

2. The students … … (not / read) book on Saturday.
3. The largest group of students … … (play) computer games this Saturday afternoon.
4. A similar number of students … … (do) sports and … … (study) this weekend.
5. A very small number of students … … (rest) this weekend.
6. Approximately 15 students … … (see) friends this weekend.

2. Write what you will be doing at following times?

1. At six o’clock tomorrow I’ll … …

2. Next Saturday afternoon I won’t … …
3. On Sunday morning I … …
 4. In a year’s time I … …

3. Write the verbs in brackets in the future perfect tense. Then choose the correct ending for
each sentence.

1. By the year 2025 the population of Australia … … (reach)

2. The population of Australia … … (peak)
3. By the year 2031 the number of children aged under 15 … … (rise)
4. By 2031 the number of people of working age in Australia … … (grow)
5. By 2031 the number of people aged 65 and over … … (go up)
6. By the year 2031 the number of people aged over 80 … … (increase)

a) by the early 2040s.

b) to almost 2.98 million.
c) a maximum of 23.3 million.
d) to between 3.7 and 4.1 million.
e) significantly.
f) to around 15 million.

4. In six of these sentences there is a verb in the wrong tense. Underline each mistake and
write the correction.

1. When I’ll find the answer I let you know. … …

2. My exams finish on 21st June … …
3. I’ll be fine in the interview as long as they won’t ask me technical questions. … …
4. What time is your meeting about to start tomorrow? … …
5. I’ll hand in my notice for this job after I’ll get the contract for the new one. … …
6. I’ll text you before we set off. … …
7. The bus doesn’t arrive until 7.30 in the evening. … …
8. I’ve got my schedule for the Japan trip. We’re about to fly to Tokyo at 10 am on Monday,
and then travel by train to Kyoto for one night. … …
9. The moment I’ll receive my results I’ll phone you.

(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

The Passive Voice

-indicates that the person or thing denoted by the subject is the receiver or the sufferer of the
action
-in the passive voice we make the object (direct object, indirect object, prepositional object) of
the action the subject of the sentence
e.g. He cleared the table. – The table was cleared.
She gave me a book. – I was given a book. / A book was given to me.
They bought him a present. - He was bought a present. / A present was bought for him.
They sent for the doctor. - The doctor was sent for.
-the doer of the action is usually not expressed in the passive constructions
e.g. This novel was written before the war.
He was educated in Cambridge.

Forms:

to be (appropriate tense) + past participle

Present Simple: I am given a book/ you are given a book/ he is given a book
Present Continuous: I am being given a book/ you are being given a book/ he is being
given a book
Present Perfect: I have been given a book/ you have been given a book/ he has been given
a book
Past Simple: I was given a book/ you were given a book/ he was given a book
Past Continuous: I was being given a book/ you were being given a book/ he was being
given a book
Past Perfect: I had been given a book/ you had been given a book/ he had been given a
book
Future Simple: I will be given a book/ you will be given a book/ he will be given a book
Future Continuous: I will be being given a book/ you will be being given a book/ he will
be being given a book
Future Perfect: I will have been given a book/ you will have been given a book/ he will
have been given a book
Modal verbs: I may/might/can/could/must/should be given a book
I may/might/can/could/must/should have been given a book

-the doer can be expressed by a prepositional phrase (by + noun phrase)

e.g. She was brought up by her grandparents.
It has been taken over by a new company.

Use:
-when it is more convenient or interesting to emphasize the thing done than the doer of it
e.g. These books have been found in the classroom.
This picture was painted by Turner.
-when the doer of the action is unknown or cannot easily be stated
e.g. My money has been stolen.
The bridge was built ten years ago.
-when the doer is not mentioned for some reason (unimportant or irrelevant, tact or delicacy of
feeling)
e.g. We were told to go away.
The light was left on all night.

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan)

Exercises

1. Fill in the text with the verbs from the list. Use the verbs in the passive voice.
add, distribute, fry, leave, make, peel, put, remove, rinse, sell, slice, soak

The flowchart shows how banana chips 1 … … . First, the bananas 2. … … by a special
machine and then they 3. … … in water. Next the clean bananas 4. … … into a chipping
machine where they 5. … … into thin chips. After this they are 6. … … Once they are dry,
the banana chips 7. … … in hot oil in large deep fat fryers. The cooked banana chips 8. … …
from the fryers using a special sieve which allows all of the oil to drain off, The banana chips
9… … (then) to cool. When they have reached the right temperature, spices 10. … … for
extra taste. Finally, the banana chips are packaged ready to 11. … … around the world and
12. … … .

2. There are 12 mistakes with active and passive verbs in this conversation. Find and correct
the mistakes.

Teacher: People are said that the increase in travel will lead to a loss of different cultures
around the world. Do you agree?
Student: Well, yes, I suppose that is a possibility. I’m sure the way of life of many people
around the world has changed by contact with tourists. But the change might have been
happened anyway, I suppose.
Teacher: Yes, maybe. So, do you think we should try to stop the disappearance of native
cultures?
Student: Oh, yes. I think it will be very sad if we lose different cultures. They enrich our
world, don’t they? But it is also argued that many people from poor countries have given
opportunities that they wouldn’t have had if there wasn’t any tourism. Their cultures may
have changed, but they have been benefited from improvements in education and health as
well as their standard of living.
Teacher: So, do you think that improvements like this inevitably bring about a loss of culture,
as some people have been suggested?
Student: I suppose I do think that, yes. As we are continued to be provided with better and
better education and we have more and more contact with the world outside our own
countries, we are being become more and more the same!
Teacher: Can you give me some examples of what you mean?
Student: Well, in my country we have now American restaurants and we watch American
movies on TV. American culture feels to be too dominant by many people in my country.
And English words have been come into my language too.
Teacher: That’s interesting. And do think there will be one day only one language in the
world?
Student: Well, the way we live has affected in a big way things like the Internet, email and
cheap travel. All countries are using English for these things, so we all know a little bit of
English already. But I am not sure it will use by countries instead of their own language. That
seems unlikely to me.
Teacher: You’ve made some very interesting points. Thank you.

1. … … 5. … … 9. … …
2. … … 6. … … 10. … …
 3. … … 7. … … 11. … …
4. … … 8. … … 12. … …

3. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate forms of the verbs in brackets. Use the passive voice.

1. For a long time, the giant panda … … (think) to be a type of raccoon.

2. At the beginning of the experiment, the chemicals … … (place) in the beaker.
3. In medieval times the earth … … (believe) to be flat.
4. Up until now students … … (allow) to wear what they want, but the new head teacher
has decided to introduce a uniform.
5. I can’t drive you to the airport because my car … … (service) tomorrow.
6. Next year the theatre … … (open) by some of Britain’s biggest acting stars.
7. It … … (expect) that the President will resign due to the recent revelations.
8. Chocolate … (make) from the bean of the cacao tree.
9. Corruption … (claim) to be in each sector of the industry.
10. Several students … … (know) to have cheated in their exams.
11. People need … … (encourage) to use public transport if they want to reduce our carbon
emissions.

4. Underline the correct words.

Air pollution can 1 define / be defined as the addition of something harmful to the air at a
faster rate than it can 2 absorb / be absorbed. Everyone should be concerned about air
pollution. It 3 affects / is affected us all, and as it 4 continues / is continued to worsen, so the
environmental impact increases. One of the major causes of air pollution in cities is car use.
Cars 5 use / are used for even the shortest journeys, and all efforts by governments to
encourage people 6 to use / to be used public transport seems to be failing. Industry is
another major cause of pollution in our cities, but fortunately, new industrial sites 7 are
building / are being built away from large urban centres.
It 8 says / is said that there are too many contributing factors for us to 9 decide / to be
decided exactly which one is the main problem, but I believe that one of the most serious
problems that needs 10 to tackle / tackling is the use of the car. In some cities laws 11 have
passed / have been passed concerning car use. Athens, for example, only 12 allows / is
allowed a certain number of cars into the city centre every day. In my opinion, this is a good
idea. With this kind of law, people have no choice and 13 force / are forced to use buses and
trains. This ensures governments 14 know/ is known that public transport 15 will use / will be
used, and can therefore justify the investment and expense ensuring the system works
properly.
Another thing governments could do is to force people to 16 have their cars checked / check
their cars for carbon emissions and fine people with cars that produce high levels of harmful
gases.

(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

The Modal Verbs

1. CAN/ COULD

Ability (physical, mental, moral)

a) in the present:
e.g. I can swim.
I can speak German.
b) in the past:
-permanent ability in the past
e.g. I could read when I was ten.
-unfulfilled ability in the past (can/could + perfect infinitive)
e.g. Why didn’t you ask me? I could have helped you. / You could have stopped the train.

Possibility (objective)
e.g. Don’t light a match here. It can cause an explosion.

Impossibility
a) of a present event (can’t/couldn’t + be (+ -ing))
e.g. You can’t be hungry. You’ve just had dinner.
She can’t be typing a letter at the moment. She can’t type.
b) of a past event (can’t/couldn’t + perfect infinitive)
e.g. He couldn’t have heard the news on the radio because he was sleeping then.

Permission (informal) e.g. You can borrow my pen. / The students couldn’t use the front door. /
Can / could I take your bike?

2. MAY/ MIGHT

Possibility
a) in the present/ future
e.g. He may be on the next bus.
He might not know that we are waiting for him. (more remote possibility)

b) in the past (may/might + perfect infinitive)

e.g. The dog isn’t here. Dan may have taken it with him.
His letter might have given them the idea.

Permission (formal) e.g. May I borrow your pen?

Might I open the box?

Reproach e.g. You may help me with the washing-up.

You might have warned us that the bull was dangerous.

Mild, casual command e.g. You might post these letters for me.

3. MUST
Obligation
a) imposed by the speaker e.g. You must be back by ten o’clock.
b) deriving from rules, regulations e.g. Passengers must cross the lines by the footbridge.

Logical necessity e.g. One must eat to live.

You must have left your bag at the theatre. (must + perfect inf.)

Probability e.g. You must be hungry after that long walk.

She must be sleeping, that’s why she doesn’t answer the phone.

Prohibition e.g. You mustn’t phone after 10.30 p.m.

You mustn’t park here!

4. HAVE TO

Obligation
a) internal e.g. I have to visit my grandma.
b) habitual e.g. Every morning I have to take the children to the kindergarten.

5. Need

-as modal verb mainly in negative and interrogative sentences

e.g. Need you go soon?
You needn’t come if you don’t feel like it. (= it is not necessary)
You needn’t leave yet there’s a lot of time.
-as a modal verb in affirmative sentences with hardly/scarcely/barely
e.g. I need hardly tell you how happy I was with your letter.

Needn’t + perfect infinitive = to refer to something which took place in the past but it wasn’t
necessary
e.g. You needn’t have watered the plants in the garden. It’s going to rain.

6. SHALL

The speaker’s volition (with second and third person subjects)

e.g. You shall stay with us as long as you like.
You shall obey my orders.

Intention
e.g. We shall celebrate this very night.

Order (in official language) e.g. Each competitor shall wear a number.

Offer/ Suggestion e.g. Shall I help you?

Shall we see a film tonight?
What shall I do now?
7. SHOULD/ OUGHT TO

Advice / recommendation
e.g. You should/ ought to stop smoking, it is bad for your health.
You should be more careful!

Disapproval / reproach
e.g. You shouldn’t/ oughtn’t to use such dirty language.
You should/ ought to have attended the meeting.

Surprise / exclamation
e.g. Who should I meet but Lucy!
Who should come in but his former girlfriend!

8. WILL

Predictability
a) concerning a future state of affairs e.g. It will rain during the night.
b) concerning a present state of affairs e.g. The bell is ringing. That will be the postman.
c) regarding a habitual state of affairs (typical or characteristic behaviour) e.g. A dog will obey
his master.

Volition
a) willingness (weak volition) e.g. I will marry her tomorrow if she will have me.
b) insistence (strong volition) e.g. I will go dancing, and no one will stop me. / He won’t listen
to me.
c) intention (intermediate volition) e.g. The phone is ringing. I’ll get it.

Offer/request/order
e.g. Will you come to dinner tomorrow?
Will you show me the way, please?
You will stay here until I come back.

9. WOULD

Predictability
e.g. The weather experts said it would rain during the night.
This would be the house where the writer spent his childhood.
In spring birds would return to their nests.

Volition
e.g. If you would wait here, I’d see if Mr. Brown is here.

Less hopeful wish

e.g. If only he would stop smoking now!
Polite request
e.g. Would you fetch me a chair please?

10.USED TO

Repeated action or permanent state in the past

e.g. I used to play cards. (= I don’t play cards anymore.)
I used to be afraid of dogs. (= I am no longer afraid of them.)

11. DARE
-(as a modal verb) in interrogative and negative sentences as well as in statements expressing
uncertainty
e.g. She dare not go to the hole.
How dare you open my letters?
Dare you tell her the truth? I daren’t.

(Budai László: English Grammar; Dohár Péter: Kis angol nyelvtan)

Exercises

1. Underline the most suitable verbs. Sometimes both options are possible.

1 He’s a concert pianist and he can / manages to play all Beethoven’s sonatas.
2 When I lived in a small town I was able to / could walk almost everywhere, but now I
live in the capital city I need a car.
3 They worked all night and could / managed to finish the report just in time.
4 The protestors didn’t manage / couldn’t persuade the president to change the law.
5 Next year she can / will be able to join the club, but she isn’t old enough yet.
6 In my country it can / is able to get very cold in the winter.
7 I was nearly late as the bus didn’t come, but luckily I could / managed to get a taxi.
8 I hope that I will be able / will manage to do some sightseeing when I’m in New York
next week on business, but I’ve got a busy schedule.
9 She didn’t get good enough grades to go to her first choice of university but she could /
was able to get another one.

2. Circle the sentence, a or b, which best matches the sentence on the right.

1 He has a British passport.

a He might be British. b He must be British.
2 I just saw him in the corridor talking to a student.
a Our teacher can’t be off sick. b Our teacher may not be off sick.
3 I advise you to take some warm clothes just in case.
a It can be cold in Delhi in December. B It must be cold in Delhi in December.
4 He wasn’t home when I called at seven.
a John can’t have been working late last night. b John might have been working late last
night.
5 He has shares in the most successful company of all time.
a He can’t be a millionaire. b He must be a millionaire.
6 It depends if I finish my essay before then.
a I may come to the lecture this afternoon. b I must come to the lecture this afternoon.
7 Not many people passed it.
a The exam may have been very difficult. b The exam must have been very difficult.
8 We will have to give him directions.
a John couldn’t know how to get here. b John might not know how to get here.

3. Read the following essay. Find seven places where you can add may, can or can’t to
soften the verbs.

Almost every family has a television these days, and many children watch a whole range of
programmes every day. Some people believe that television is harmful to children, saying
that it influences behaviour in a negative way.
There are a lot of programmes on television that are bot educational and that contain violence
and bad language. However, watching violence on television encourages violent behaviour in
children. This is true in cases of children who have already exhibited violent tendencies, but
it isn’t true of all children, otherwise we would have an epidemic of child crime. It is also
argued that bad language on television encourages the same in children.
Nevertheless, overall I believe that restricting children’s television viewing to mainly
educational programmes shown at a time of the day when there is no violence or bad
language will overcome any risks of television being a bad influence.

4. Underline the correct words. Sometimes both options are possible.

1 In my office you have to / don’t have to wear a suit but lots of people do.
2 These pills must not / don’t have to be taken if you are under twelve years old.
3 I must / have to leave now because I have a meeting.
4 I didn’t need to go / needn’t have gone to the station to pick her up because she decided to
take the bus, so I finished my essay instead.
5 Notice to all conference participants: Please not that you must / have to register before
entering the conference hall.
6 You mustn’t / don’t have to smoke inside but you can smoke outside.
7 When I was at university I must / had to write my assignment by hand because there
weren’t any computers then.
8 British dog owners have to / must have passports for their dogs when they travel abroad.
9 Next year I’ll have to / ‘ll must get a job to pay back all the money I borrowed from the
bank for my university fees.
10 The interview went really well so I didn’t need to worry / needn’t have worried about it
so much beforehand.

5. Fill in the gaps below with the correct form of (not) have to, must, (not) need or should.
1 A: I’m going to Florence next week so I … … to buy a guidebook.
B: Ah, well, you’re in luck. You … … buy a book because I’ve got a small guide to
Florence and I can lend you.
2 A: What’s Mike doing these days?
B: He’s studying really hard. He … … pass his exams in order to get the promotion his
company has promised him.
3 A: … … (you) wear a uniform at work?
B: Yes, and I find it rather strange because I’ve never worn one before. When I was at
school we … … wear a uniform although the girls … … wear skirts not trousers.
4 A: The rules for university fees have just changed. I was really lucky because I … … pay
for my education, but unfortunately my brother … … pay when he goes to university next
year.
B: Yes, I know. My sister will be affected too.
5 A: The bread’s in the oven. Can I remind you to get it out in 20 minutes? I … … forget like
last time when I burnt the loaf.
B: I’m sorry. I’m afraid I … … go now, so I won’t be able to remind you. Can’t you set a
timer?
A: Oh, … … (you / really) go? I’d hoped you’d stayed to lunch and have some of my
bread!
6 A: I’ve just joined the tennis club. They’ve got all sorts of rules, you know.
B: Really? Like what?
A: Well, you … … wear white clothes on the courts, of course. But the really silly rule is
that you … … turn your mobile phone off as soon as you arrive at the club. I don’t want to
do that – what if I’m needed at work or something?
B: Perhaps they don’t know you’re a doctor. You … … tell them.

6. Read the text bellow. Decide if the underlined phrases are correct or not. Correct them if
they are wrong.

Pollution is causing enormous problems all over the world these days. Governments 1 need
to act quickly to stop this problem before it is too late.

The first thing I believe we 2 absolutely should do is reduce the amount we use our cars. Our
governments 3 must to encourage us to use public transport. In my country, public transport
is not very reliable, so the first thing governments 4 have to do is to ensure that buses and
trains are a viable alternative to the car. They 5 also should reduce the costs to the public of
travelling on public transport.

However, it is not only the government that 6 needs to make an effort. All of us 7 should
make some effort to reduce pollution. First of all, we 8 ought try to walk or cycle if we can
rather than using our cars. In the past people 9 must walk or cycle because they did not have
cars. It is a shame that we have become so dependent on cars now. Secondly, we 10 should
trying to share car use with our friends or colleagues.

All of us 11 will must make some changes to our lives if we want to reduce pollution.
Fortunately, we 12 mustn’t make big changes to make big improvements in the situation.
 1…… 5…… 9……
2…… 6…… 10 … …
3…… 7…… 11 … …
4…… 8…… 12 … …

(Diana Hopkins, Pauline Cullen: Cambridge Grammar for IELTS)

7 Here are some statements about things that didn’t happen. Say what could have
happened. (could + perfect infinitive)
e.g. Teacher: You didn’t solve the problems, Nick.
Teacher: You could have solved all the problems.
a) You didn’t write a very good composition.
b) You didn’t attend all the lessons.
c) You didn’t read the book.
d) You didn’t finish the test.
e) You didn’t win the English competition.
f) You didn’t do your homework.

8 Express a less likely possibility in the past using might + perfect infinitive.
e.g. I don’t know whether John drove to London or not. – He might have driven to London.
a) I don’t know whether John flew to London or not.
b) I don’t know whether he wrote the letter or not.
c) I don’t know whether he arrived in time or not.
d) I don’t know whether he contacted his partners or not.
e) I don’t know whether he signed the contract or not.

9. Express reproach using might + perfect infinitive.

e.g. You didn’t write to tell me you were coming.
You might have written to tell me you were coming.
a) You didn’t phone to ask me to come to the station.
b) You didn’t say goodbye to your friend when you left.
c) Why didn’t you let me know you couldn’t come to my birthday party?
d) Why didn’t you show more interest in the discussion?
e) Why didn’t you say anything?
f) Why didn’t you raise the problem at the meeting?
g) Why didn’t you mention it yesterday?

10. Fill in the blanks with needn’t + perfect infinitive form of the verbs in brackets referring to
something which took place in the past but was unnecessary.
e.g. You ------ (wash) my cardigan. It was clean.
You needn’t have washed my cardigan. It was clean.
a) I ------ (return) home early. My parents didn’t expect me.
b) She could hear you. You ------ (shout)
c) She ------ (knock) at the door. I saw her through the window.
d) The tyres were O.K. You ------ (pump) them.
e) I ------ (look) for my pen. It was in my pocket.
f) Mother ------ (call) the doctor. Monica was all right.
g) The floor was clean. You ------ (polish) it.

(Georgina Gălăţeanu-Fârnoagă: Sinteze de gramatică engleză)