CHOOSE THE RIGHT TENSE FORM: PRESENT PERFECT, PAST SIMPLE, PAST CONTINUOUS, PAST PERFECT, PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS, PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
1. I (lie) in bed thinking about getting up when the doorbell (ring).
2. I (do) housework all day today. I (clean) every room in the house.
3. Reports are coming in that a train (crash) near Birmingham. According to eyewitnesses, it (hit) a concrete block which somebody (put) on the line.
4. Halfway to the office Paul (turn) round and (go) back home, because he (forget) to turn the gas off.
5. I (play) a lot of bridge recently.
6. It wasn’t surprising that she (start) getting toothache. She (not to go) to the dentist for two years.
7. When I (get) home everybody (watch) TV.
8. We (not to see) your mother for ages.
9. How long ( you learn) English?
10. London (change) a lot since we first (come) to live here.
11. How many times (you see) the film? This is the first time I (see) it.
12. Who’s that? I (never see) him before in my life.
13. I hear Joe (get) married last summer.
14. I (often wonder) where she (get) money.
15. (You read) Pam Marshall’s latest books?
16. They ( just discover) a new fuel- it’s half the price of petrol, and much cleaner.
17. (You hear) the storm last night?
18. My sister (be) married three times.
19. While she (talk) on the phone and the children (start) fighting and (break) a window.
20. He used to talk to us for hours about all the interesting things he (do) in his life.
21. You know, she (stand) looking at this picture for the last twenty minutes.
22. The old cross (stand) on top of the hill as long as anybody can remember.
23. I (spend) a lot of time travelling since I (get) this new job.
24. When I (be) at school we all (study) Latin.
25. After he (finish) breakfast he (sit) down to write some letters.
26. When I (meet) him he (work) as a waiter for a year or so.
27. I (never learn) to ski.
28. (you finish) with the bathroom yet?
29. We (live) in Scotland until I (be) eighteen.
30. She (have) a hard life, but she is always smiling.

1. I (lie) in bed thinking about getting up when the doorbell (ring). - The correct tense form is PAST SIMPLE for "lie" and PAST CONTINUOUS for "ring". In the first part of the sentence, "lie" refers to a specific action that happened in the past. And in the second part, "ring" refers to an ongoing action that was happening at a specific point in the past. 2. I (do) housework all day today. I (clean) every room in the house. - The correct tense forms are PRESENT PERFECT for both "do" and "clean". In the first part of the sentence, "do" is used to indicate an action that started in the past and is still continuing in the present. And in the second part, "clean" is also used in the present perfect tense to indicate a past action that has a present relevance. 3. Reports are coming in that a train (crash) near Birmingham. According to eyewitnesses, it (hit) a concrete block which somebody (put) on the line. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for "crash," PAST PERFECT for "hit," and PAST SIMPLE for "put." In the first part of the sentence, "crash" describes a completed action that happened in the past. In the second part, "hit" is used in the past perfect tense to refer to an action that happened before another past action. And in the third part, "put" is used in the past simple tense to describe a specific action that happened in the past. 4. Halfway to the office Paul (turn) round and (go) back home because he (forget) to turn the gas off. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for all three verbs: "turn," "go," and "forget." Each verb refers to a specific action that happened in the past. 5. I (play) a lot of bridge recently. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The use of "recently" indicates that the action of playing bridge happened at an unspecified time in the past and has relevance to the present. 6. It wasn't surprising that she (start) getting toothache. She (not go) to the dentist for two years. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for "start" and PRESENT PERFECT for "go." In the first part of the sentence, "start" describes a specific action that happened in the past. And in the second part, "go" is used in the present perfect tense to indicate a past action with present relevance. 7. When I (get) home, everybody (watch) TV. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for "get" and PAST CONTINUOUS for "watch." In the first part of the sentence, "get" refers to a specific action that happened in the past. And in the second part, "watch" describes an ongoing action that was happening at a specific point in the past. 8. We (not see) your mother for ages. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The use of "not...for ages" indicates that the action of seeing the mother has not happened in a long time, with relevance to the present. 9. How long (you learn) English? - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The question is asking about a duration of time from the past until the present. 10. London (change) a lot since we first (come) to live here. - The correct tense forms are PRESENT PERFECT for "change" and PAST SIMPLE for "come." The first part of the sentence describes the ongoing change in London from the past until the present. And the second part refers to a specific past action of coming to live in London. 11. How many times (you see) the film? This is the first time I (see) it. - The correct tense forms are PRESENT PERFECT for "see" in the question and PAST SIMPLE for "see" in the response. The first part of the sentence asks about a number of times the film has been seen until the present. And the second part describes a specific action of seeing the film in the past. 12. Who's that? I (never see) him before in my life. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT for "see." The speaker is referring to a situation in the present where they have not seen the person before in their entire life. 13. I hear Joe (get) married last summer. - The correct tense form is PAST SIMPLE. The speaker is referring to a specific past event of Joe getting married. 14. I (often wonder) where she (get) money. - The correct tense forms are PRESENT PERFECT for "wonder" and PAST SIMPLE for "get." The speaker is talking about a past pattern of wondering and a specific past action of getting money. 15. (You read) Pam Marshall's latest books? - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The question asks about the experience of reading Pam Marshall's latest books up until the present. 16. They (just discover) a new fuel - it's half the price of petrol and much cleaner. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The speaker is talking about a very recent action of discovering a new fuel, which has relevance to the present. 17. (You hear) the storm last night? - The correct tense form is SIMPLE PAST. The question asks about a specific action of hearing the storm in the past. 18. My sister (be) married three times. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The speaker is talking about their sister's marital history, which has relevance to the present. 19. While she (talk) on the phone, the children (start) fighting and (break) a window. - The correct tense forms are PAST CONTINUOUS for "talk," PAST SIMPLE for "start," and PAST SIMPLE for "break." The first part of the sentence describes an ongoing action in the past, and the following two parts describe specific actions that happened during that ongoing action. 20. He used to talk to us for hours about all the interesting things he (do) in his life. - The correct tense form is PAST SIMPLE. The speaker is talking about a past habit of the person talking about interesting things they did in their life. 21. You know, she (stand) looking at this picture for the last twenty minutes. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS. The speaker is describing an ongoing action of standing and looking at the picture that started in the past and continues into the present. 22. The old cross (stand) on top of the hill as long as anybody can remember. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The speaker is talking about a situation that started in the past and continues into the present. 23. I (spend) a lot of time traveling since I (get) this new job. - The correct tense forms are PRESENT PERFECT for "spend" and PRESENT PERFECT for "get." The speaker is talking about a past action of getting the new job and an ongoing action of spending time traveling that started in the past and continues into the present. 24. When I (be) at school, we all (study) Latin. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for "be" and PAST SIMPLE for "study." The first part of the sentence describes a specific past time being at school, and the second part describes a specific past action of studying Latin. 25. After he (finish) breakfast, he (sit) down to write some letters. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for "finish" and PAST SIMPLE for "sit." The first part of the sentence describes a specific past action of finishing breakfast, and the second part describes another specific past action of sitting down to write letters. 26. When I (meet) him, he (work) as a waiter for a year or so. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for "meet" and PAST SIMPLE for "work." The first part of the sentence describes a specific past action of meeting the person, and the second part describes the state of a specific past action of working as a waiter. 27. I (never learn) to ski. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The speaker is talking about a past action of not learning to ski that has relevance to the present. 28. (You finish) with the bathroom yet? - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The question asks about a past action of finishing with the bathroom with relevance to the present. 29. We (live) in Scotland until I (be) eighteen. - The correct tense forms are PAST SIMPLE for "live" and PAST SIMPLE for "be." The first part of the sentence describes a specific past action of living in Scotland, and the second part describes a specific past action of being eighteen. 30. She (have) a hard life, but she is always smiling. - The correct tense form is PRESENT PERFECT. The speaker is talking about a past experience of having a hard life with relevance to the present.