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SECTION 1: TENSES 1

CONTINUOUS TENSES

Continuous tenses are made with a form of be + … ing, e.g. is doing, was doing, wil be doing. They are most often used to refer to an action which is incomplete or ongoing.What are you doing up there on the roof?I am learning to play the guitar.We are holding a meeting next Saturday.It was the rush hour and people were hurrying home from work.The plane will be landing shortly at London Heathrow.

SIMPLE TENSES

Use the present simple:1. for permanent states or factsThis bottle holds 3 litres. Birds fly.2. for regular repeated events, including scheduled events in the futureI go to aerobics class once a week. The school years start on 17September.Use the pas simple:3. for completed or repeated past actionsWe grew up in the country. We walked to school everyday.

PERFECT TENSES

Perfect tenses are made with a form of have followed by the past participle, e.g. have done, having done, had done. They refer to an action which took place at sometime before now (present perfect), before a specified event in the past (past perfect) or before a specified pointing the future (future perfect).Have you lived here all your life?Where’s your homework?I haven’t done it.I have been waiting for three hours.I carefully opened the parcel that my parents had sent me.I will have finished this work by the time my partner gets home.

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1. PRESENT SIMPLE OR PRESENT CONTINUOUS? 1

A. Say what the people in the pictures are doing. Use the verbs in the box to help you.

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balance cure deliver eat give growkeep play ride sell stand sweep

1. What is the postman doing? He is riding his bicycle backwards_______________

2. What are the soldiers doing? They _____________________ __________________________

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3. What are the doctors doing? They _____________________________________________________

4. What is the road sweeper doing?He _______________________________________________________

5. What is the gardener doing? She ____________________________________________________

6. What is butcher doing? He ___________________________________________________________

B. Now say what the same people do for a living. Use the verbs in the box to help you.

1. What do postmen do? They deliver letters.2. What do soldiers do? They

_____________________________________

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3. What do doctors do? They _____________________________________

4. What do roadsweepers do? They ____________________________________

5. What do gardeners do? They _____________________________________

6. What do butchers do? They _____________________________________

2. PRESENT SIMPLE OR PRESENT CONTINUOUS? 2

Choose between the simple form and the continuous form to complete these pairs of sentences.

1. thinka. What are you thinking?b. I think I am a genius, but my dad just thinks I’m crazy.

2. expecta. I must stay in because _________________________________ a

parcel.b. I ______________________________ you are tired after your walk.

Come and sit down!3. see

a. I ____________________________ that the price of petrol has gone up 35% in the last year. b. Dad’s cough is getting worse, so he ______________________________ a doctor this afternoon.

4. tastea. This ice-cream ________________________________ of garlic. I asked for chocolate flavour! b. What are you doing?

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I _____________________________ this cake to see if it’s cooked properly.

5. havea. ______________________________ you ____________________________ a good time?b. ____________________________ you ___________________________ any money left?No, I’ve spent it all.

6. dependa. Don’t let me down. I ___________________________________ on

you!b. Do you love me?It _________________________________ what you mean by ‘love’.

7. imaginea. I ____________________________ you must be tired after your long journey, Signor Polo.b. There aren’t any ghosts in here! You ______________________

things.8. weigh

a. What are you doing?I ______________________________ myself.b. How much ___________________________ you

_____________________?I don’t know, I can’t see the scales!

3. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? 1

Match the sentences with the pictures.

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a. The students stood up when the teacher came into the room.b. The students were standing up when the teacher came into the

room.c. ‘What do you do?’ ‘I work in an office.’d. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘I’m writing a letter.’e. It rained this morning.f. It’s been raining all morning.

4. PAST SIMPLE OR PAST CONTINUOUS?

Complete the story, using the verb in brackets either in the past simple or the past continuous tense.

This is a story about something that happened on board a cruise ship. The cruise ship (1) was going (go) from London to New York. A magician on board the cruise ship (2) _______________________ (do) magic tricks to entertain the passengers. He (3) _______________________ (have) a lot of very good tricks, and (4) ___________________________ (be) able to make things disappear and reappear in a really mystifying way.

Unfortunately for him, there was a parrot in the audience who kept giving the game away. The parrot (5) ______________________ (shout) things like ‘It’s up his sleeve!’ or ‘He put it in his pocket!’ or ‘It’s in his other hand!’ and in this way the parrot (6) ______________________ (manage) to spoil all the magician’s tricks.

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One day, the magician (7) ______________________ (perform) his show as usual. The ship was in a particularly dangerous part of the sea where there are icebergs. Suddenly, just as the magician (8) __________________________ (wave) his magic wand, the ship hit an iceberg and (9) ____________________ (sink) immediately.

The magician (10) _________________________ (find) a lifebelt, and (11) ________________________ (float) in the sea when the parrot (12) ________________________ (fly) up and landed on his lifebelt. The parrot and the magician (13) ________________________ (look) at each other for a while in silence, then the parrot (14) _____________________ (say):

‘Ok, I give up. What (15) _____________________ you _____________________ (do) with the ship?’

5. PAST OR PERFECT? 2

Complete the story using the forms of the verbs in the box to help you.

Two men were standing at a bus stop arguing about the spelling of a word.

‘It is spelt a-t-i-s-h-o-o,’ said the first.

‘I (1) have seen it written down, and I can assure you that it is spelled a-t-i-s-s-o-o,’ said the second.

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assured have been listening have both been misled have seen have ever even seen heard looked at looked it up

phoned went on

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‘I am sorry to contradict you,’ said the first, ‘but I (2) _____________________ in the dictionary last night, and it is spelt a-t-i-s-h-o-o.’

‘Then I suggest you throw your dictionary away, my friend! I (3) ______________ my friend last night, and he (4) _____________________ me that it is spelt a-t-i-s-h-o-o!’

And so it (5) ______________________________.

Finally a lady who was standing nearby coughed politely.

‘Gentlemen, forgive me. I (6) _______________________ to your argument, and I am afraid you (7) ________________________. The spelling is t-i-s-s-u-e.’

The two men (8) _________________________ her in amazement. Finally one of them said:

‘I doubt if you (9) ____________________ a yeti, let alone (10) _________________one sneeze!’

6. VERY IRREGULAR RHYMES

Complete the limericks using the verbs in brackets in the correct form. All of the verbs are irregular.

There once was a young boy from LooeWho (1) dreamt (dream) he had (2) ____________________ (eat ) his shoe.He (3) ________________________ (wake up) in the nightWith a terrible frightAnd (4) _______________________ (find) it was perfectly true!________________________________________________________________________

There was a young person names FrankWho was keen to manoeuvre a tank, But when (5) _________________________ (give) the chanceHe (6) ____________________________ (make) directly for France

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And (7) _____________________________ (go) rather too far, so he (8) __________________________ (sink).________________________________________________________________________

There was an old man of DarjeelingWho (9) ______________________ (hang) by his feet from the ceiling.He (10) ______________________ (fall) on his headBut (11) ____________________ (feel) nothing, he (12) ___________________ (say),For he’d (13) ______________________________ (lose) all sensation and feeling.________________________________________________________________________

A fellow named Arthur McNares(14) _________________________ (keep) a number of very big bears.They (15) __________________________ (eat) so much honeyHe (16) ___________________________ (run) out of moneySo then they (17) ______________________ (eat) Arthur – who cares?

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