Past_Tenses

Time expressions used with:

Past Simple (V2/didn’t Vinfinitive, was/were)
vs
Past Continuous (was/were+Ving)
I … (be) ill last Sunday.
Yesterday I … (read) a book.
Yesterday I … (read) a book from 6 till 7.
Jessica … (go) to the cinema yesterday.
I … (go) to work at 7 am two days ago.
My sister … (talk) to her friend from 5 till 8!
He … (buy) a ticket, … (take) the train and … (go) to Saint-Petersburg.
My mother … (cook) dinner while I … (surf) the internet.
When we … (be) children, we … (play) football every day.
She … (always talk) about her baby!
She …(go) to the store, … (buy) a scarf and … (give) it to Susan.
I … (play) basketball, my brother James … (walk) his dog and our Grandparents … (read) books.

Past Simple (V2/didn’t+Vinfinitive; be: was/were )
vs
Past Continuous (was/were+Ving)
What … your friend … (do) yesterday at 9 pm?
What … you … (do) yesterday?
We … (not go) to the gym yesterday.
I … (not walk) in the park at 8 am yesterday.
I … (not mean) to insult you that day.
… she … (check) her recipe while she … (prepare) the dish?
They … (be not ) excellent hosts.
Who … they … (pay) the bill at the café?
Last Sunday he … (not have) breakfast or lunch and he … (not feel) happy.
He … (not sleep) and the loud noise … (not wake) him up.

Past Simple vs Present Perfect

1. Complete the pairs of sentences. Use the Present Perfect in one sentence and the Past Simple in the other.
I (know) … her for six years.
I (know) … him when I was at school.
He (live) … in Paris from 1997 to 2000.
He (live) … in New York since 2001.
Where's Pete? I (not see) … him for ages.
I (not see) … Pete last night.
We (be) … at primary school from 1993 to 1998.
We (not be) … in this class since March.
I (not watch) … this film yet.
I (not watch) … the film at the weekend.

2. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.
1. I … (never/ be) to the USA. I … (want) to go there last summer but I couldn’t.
2. He … (live) in this street all his life.
3. His father … (come back) to London last Sunday.
4. Yan … (write) a letter to Nick two days ago.
5. He … (send) his letter yesterday.
6. They … (just/ buy) some postcards.

3. Fill in last night, ever, ago, just, yet, always in the right place.
1. Nick’s uncle went to Russia 3 years.
2. Mr. Rambler has come back from France.
3. Nick has wanted to visit Germany.
4. Mr. Rambler saw Yan.
5. They haven’t visited this old castle.
6. Have you been to England?

4. Choose the correct option.
She had / ‘s had a moped [məuped] мопед since she was 15.
We took / ‘ve taken a taxi to town that morning.
We played / 've played volleyball last night.
I'm really hungry. I didn’t eat / haven’t eaten since last night.
They visited/ ‘ve visited Colorado last summer.

5. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.
Maria (get) … some bad news last week.
She (be) … sad since she (get) … the bad news.
I (start) … school when I was five years old.
I (be) … at school since I (be) … five years old.
I (change) … my job three times this year.
I (change) … my job three times last year.
The weather was hot and dry for many weeks. But two days ago it (rain) ….
Tom (break) … his leg five days ago.
He’s in hospital. He (be) … in hospital since he (break) … his leg.
Are you going to finish your work before you go to bed? — I (finish already) … it.
I (finish) … my work two hours ago.

6. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.
I (have, just) … a nice pot of coffee. Would you like a cup?
I (see, not) … Steve this morning yet.
Carol and I are old friends. I (know) … her since I (be) … a freshman in high school.
Maria (have) … a lot of problems since she (come) … to that country.
I (go) … to Paris in 2003 and 2006.
A car came round the corner and I (jump) … out of the way.
Don’t throw the paper away because I (not to read) … it yet.
Is Jim going to eat lunch with us today? — No. He (eat already)... .He (eat) … lunch an hour ago.
Since we (start) … doing this exercise, we (complete) … some sentences.
I (be) … never to Italy.

7. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.
1. You (ever work) … in a shop?
2. I (work) … at my uncle’s shop when I was younger.
3. It’s the first time I (be) … on a ship.
4. Ann is looking for her key. She can’t find it. She (lose) … her key.
5. How many symphonies Beethoven (compose) …?
6. Look! Somebody (spill) … ink on the notebook.
7. You (have) … a holiday this year yet?
8. You (see) … any good films recently?
9. He (have, not) … any problems since he (come ) …. here.

8 Fill in Past Simple or Present Perfect
I (cut) … some flowers from my garden yesterday. I (cut) … lots of flowers from my garden so far this summer.
2. I (not / see) … Tom lately.
3. The artist (draw) … a picture of sunset yesterday. She (draw) … many pictures of sunsets in her lifetime.
4. I (feed) … birds at the park yesterday. I (feed) … birds at the park every day since I (lose) … my job.
5. Ann (wake up) … late and (miss) … her breakfast on Monday.
6. I (forget) … to turn off the stove after dinner. I (forget) … to turn off the stove a lot of times in my lifetime.
7. The children (hide) … in the basement yesterday. They (hide) … in the basement often since they (discover) … a secret place there.
8. The baseball player (hit) … the ball out of the stadium yesterday. He (hit) … a lot of homeruns since he (join) … our team.
9. We first (meet) … in 2011. So we (know) … each other for 9 years.

9. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.
1. She (change) … a lot since she left school.
2. I (see) … this film and I don’t want to see it again.
3. Jazz (originate) … in the United States around 1900.
4. Tom Hanks (win) … an Oscar several times already.
5. Long ago, they (build) … most houses out of wood.
6. Scientists still (not/find) … a cure for cancer.
7. Sean (eat, never) … Chinese food before.
8. In my first job, I (be) … responsible for marketing.
9. The last job I (apply) …for required applicants to speak some Japanese.
10. The first modern Olympics (take) … place in Athens more than a hundred years ago.
11. I am writing in connection with the advertisement which (appear) … in December.

10. Complete the sentences. Use the Present Perfect or the Past Simple.
My family and I (move) from London to Cardiff last summer, so we (live) in Cardiff for seven months now. I miss my friends in London. My best friend is called Megan. We (meet) at primary school, so I (know) her for nine years. Unfortunately, I (not see) her since last summer.
I go to Greystone Secondary School in Cardiff. I (be) at the school since last September. At first I (not like) it because I (not have) any friends here. But the students in my class are really nice and I'm happy here now.

11. Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
We lived here since 1997.
I've been ill since two days.
How long do you know him?
Susie has seen a good film last night.
We've finished our homework just.
I've already wrote three letters.

12. Complete the sentences. Use the Present Perfect or the Past Simple.
H: That's a nice tennis racket. Is it new?
A: No, (I/have) … it for about a year, but (I/not play) … with it very much. (I/buy) … it in Florida.
H: When (you/go) … to America?
A: (I/go) … there with my family in the spring.
H: What was it like?
A: Great! (I/stay) … with my pen friend.
H: Is your pen friend American?
A: Yes. (I/have) … an American pen friend for two years. (he/come) … to England last summer.
H: (I/not meet) … him.
A: No, (you/be) … on holiday in Turkey.

13. Choose the correct form of the verb.
1. We went/ ‘ve been to the seaside last summer.
2. I finished / ‘ve finished my homework. Can I go out now?
3. I was /‘ve been ill three months ago.
4. Have you been / Did you go to the shop? I need some stamps.
5. My hobby is fishing. I’ve caught / caught a lot of fish.
6. Jenny is in Oxford today, but she was /has been in London yesterday.
7. I played /'ve played basketball when I was younger, but l don’t play now.
8. I’ve already seen / already saw 'Shrek'.
9. Julie has been / was ill since Tuesday.
10. I didn't see / haven't seen Josh since 1998.
11. We've stayed / stayed at our grandparents for three days. We arrived home yesterday.
12. The dog went / has gone to sleep an hour ago.
13. I had / ‘ve had a cat for two years. Its name is Willis.
14. I’ve waited / waited for a bus for twenty minutes. Then I decided to walk.

14. Put the verbs in the Past Perfect or the Past Perfect continuous.
By the time we arrived at the canyon, it ... (stop) snowing.
Jane’s feet were aching because she ... (walk) since early that morning.
Most people ... (leave) before the volcano erupted.
Simon got lost because he ... (not take) a map with him.
Julia and Amy were soaking wet because they ... (hike) in the rain.
She ... (wait) for ten hours before help arrived.
They were happy because they ... (manage) to reach the top of the mountain.
He was very tired. He ... (hike) all day.
This was the first time he ... (go) climbing alone.
The children ... (finish) all their chores before their mother got home.
The conference ... (end) by 4pm.
He ... (miss) the bus so he was really late.
I ... (look) for my camera for half an hour, when I remembered I had loaned it to my friend.

15. Choose the correct answers.
Before James and I met, I had heard/had been hearing that he was very easy to talk to.
My friend and I had argued/had been arguing for a few minutes when we both suddenly started laughing!
A week after they had fallen out/had been falling out with each other, Ella and Amy made up again.
Jake hadn’t met/hadn’t been meeting Alex before so I introduced them to each other.
I had talked/had been talking with my friend for so long that I didn’t realize it had got dark outside!
Our teacher asked me and my friend what we had whispered/had been whispering about.

16. Tick the correct sentences. Find the mistakes in other sentences and correct them.
When Simon finally arrived, I had been waited for over half an hour.
I hadn’t seen Ava behind me so I jumped when she started to speak!
Had you been working there long before you met Alicia?
By the time the party ended, we been dancing for hours.
When I walked into the room, I knew they had been talking about me.
How long had you been knowing Nils before you became friends?
I hadn’t listened to the teacher, so the question came as a complete surprise.
We had been planning the surprise party for weeks and it was fantastic!