Exercises Complete each sentence with a verb from the box. Use the present perfect or past simple, with a negative form where necessary. €9 have go oversleep read spend wear 1 A: Shall | make us some dinner? It's already eight o'clock. 8: No, thanks. | to the dentist this afternoon and my mouth hurts too much to eat anything, 1 three lectures today and | still have two more later this afternoon. It was so hot today that | shorts and a T-shirt at work, fe £200 on food this month and there's another week to go before | get paid &: Do you want a lift home? 8: No,| this morning because my alarm clock didn't go off, so | need to work late 61 much of the report yet, but | have to finish it by the weekend. wan © complete the sentences with the pairs of verbs from the box. Choose the most appropriate tense — present perfect or past simple. €}. beable-feel happen-speak —_improve-be not want-fall rescue-be work -not have 1 Maria to go swimming since she in the river. 2 Since she at the company she a day off through illness. 3 Since he the girl from a house fire, he on TV almost every day. 4 Alot since | last to you. 5 Since | to drive | much more independent 6 Stefan’s reading enormously since he at school. (EBD one sentence in each pair is wrong. Correct it by replacing the past simple with the present perfect of the italicised verb. 1 a Remember that after you signed the contract you won't be able to change your mind. Carlos injury only became apparent after he signed to play for Real Madrid. a Assoon as | finished college | want to travel around Australia. b I didn’t have time to check the essay. | handed it in as soon as | finished it 3 a By the time Sarah got to work the meeting had finished b ll probably have finished breakfast by the time the children got up. a | recognised her the moment I heard her laugh. b [ll tell you what time we're coming the moment I heard from Emil EBD Here are some extracts from a television news report. Choose the more appropriate tense ~ present perfect or past simple — for the verbs in brackets. 11 When President Nelson ...arrives... (arrive) in Paris this evening, it will be the first time she (visit) Europe since her election victory in May. 2. The Victoria Hospital in Milltown (close) to new patients after more cases of food poisoning. Three elderly patients (die) last week in the outbreak 3 The rate of inflation (drop) to 4.8%. It’s the first time in nearly two years that the rate (fall) below 5%. 4 Nearly 600 laptops (steal) from Ministry of Defence staff over the past five years. However, a spokesperson (insist) that there had been no security problems as none of the computers (hold) secret information. + Additional exercise 2 (page 241) eisExercises Complete the sentences using these pairs of verbs. Use the past simple in one gap and the past continuous in the other. come-show get-go hope-give __live~spend look-see play—break start - checkin 1 Justas! was. getting into the bath all the lights .. went. off. 21 to go away this weekend, but my boss me some work that | have to finish by Monday. 3 When! in Paris, | three hours a day travelling to and from work, 4 Afriendly American couple chatting to him as he at the hotel reception. 5. | bumped into Lena last week. She allot better than when | last. her. 6 My boss into the office just as 1 everyone my holiday photos. 71 badminton four times a week before | my ankle. This time, use the same tense, either past simple or past continuous, in both spaces. add-taste gooff-light _notlisten—explain push-run _ not watch~dream 8 The smoke alarm when he a candle underneath it. 9 | can’t remember how to answer this question. | must confess that | while the teacher ittous. 10 She more salt to the soup, and then it much better. 11 Although the television was on, | it. Instead | about my holidays. 12 She ‘open the door and into the room, Look again at numbers 1, 4, 7 and 11 in 4.1. Which of these sentences could have both verbs in the past simple? What difference in meaning, if any, would there be? ‘Complete this email with either the past simple or the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Where alternatives are possible, think about any difference in meaning. 1(1) (buy) a new alarm clock the other day in Taylor's the jewellers, when I actually (2) (see) somebody shoplifting. I’¢ just finished paying for my clock and as 1 (3) (turn) round, an elderly woman (4) (slowly put) a silver plate into a bag that she (5) (carry). Then she (6) (walk) over to another part of the shop and (7) (pick up) an expensive-looking watch a number of times. When she (8) (think) that nobody (9) (ook), she (10) (drop) it into the bag. Before I (11) (have) a chance to tell the staff in the shop, she (12) (notice) that 1 (13) (watch) her and (14) (hurry) out. Unfortunately for her, two police officers (as) (waik) past just at that moment and she (16) (run) straight into them, -# Additional exercise 1 (page 240) 9is Exercises 3 Complete each pair of sentences using the same verb. Use the present perfect in one sentence and the present perfect continuous in the other. Use negative forms where appropriate. disappear give put read stay stop swim 1 a@ Martina Gonzalez in a rented flat since returning to Buenos Aires. b We at this hotel a couple of times before. 2 a Allday, the police motorists to question them about the accident. b Good, the noise I can start concentrating on my work again. 3al any of Dickens’ novels. bl this book on astrophysics for hours and I'm still only on page six. 4a DrFletcher the same lecture to students for the last ten years, b Mr Sato nearly a million pounds to the charity this year. 5 a Idid 20 lengths of the pool today. | that far since | was at school. bl and | feel exhausted 6 a Inrecent years, companies increasing resources into internet marketing, b The South African coal company the Calverton Mine up for sale 7 a Animportant file from my office. b Plants and vegetables from my garden since we had new neighbours. Here are two views on the government's announcement that it is to cut the money it gives to the Influenza Research Centre. If necessary, correct the present perfect continuous verbs using either the present perfect or past simple. a DrPetra Adams, the Director of the Centre It’s remarkable to think that since 1950 influenza (1) has been claiming more than 50,000 lives in this country, and in 1957 alone around 6,000 people (2) have been dying. But over the last 20 years ‘we at the Centre (3) have been making considerable progress on understanding the illness. We (4) have been producing over a hundred books and articles reporting the results of our research and in 2012 they (5) have been awarding the Nobel Prize for medicine to one of my colleagues. In our more recent work we (6) have been looking into the effects of influenza on heart disease and we (7) have also been exploring a possible link between climate change and the recent increase in the number of cases of influenza. Itis a tragedy that the government (8) has been making this decision now. b Sabir Khan, the Opposition spokesperson for science The previous government (1) has been investing huge amounts of money into the Centre and | think it's terrible that the present government (2) has been announcing this cut when the number of eases of influenza (3) has been increasing. The Centre (4) has been running successfully for many years. But this decision is just typical of this government. It (5) has been neglecting health research ever since it was elected, and (6) has been cutting back on spending on science generally. Although the government says that the cut is necessary because of the recent world economic problems, | (7) have been finding evidence that they (8) have been planning this for some time. 1 (9) have been speaking to the Minister about this yesterday and (10) have also been writing to the Prime Minister demanding that the decision should be reversed. + Additional exercise 2 (page 241) B