EXERCISES A. Complete the sentences with simple past or past continuous tense. 1. While I _________________(study) very hard for m y exam, my lucky sister _________________( enjoy, herself). 2. Due to t he rain was late so , when I _________________(get) to work everyone else _________________( already, work). 3. Look at the rain! I t is hard to believe that at this time yesterday we _________________(have) a picnic. 4. I _________________(phone) you two hours ago but you _________________(not, answer). What ____________ _____(you, do). 5. My sister _________________(drop) two plates while she _________________(wash up) yesterday morning; one of them _________________(break). 6. While she _________________(read) the newspaper, the telephone _________________(ring); as she ______ ___________(go) to answer it, she_________________( hear) a knock at the door. The telephone _________________(still \ ring) while she _________________( walk to the door) but just as she _________________( open ) it _________________(stop) ringing. 7. When they _________________(live ) in that house, they _________________(have) three servants. 8. Between June 1985 and July 1990. He _________________(write) a novel. 9. Sorry can you repeat your question? I _________________(not listen) to you. I _________________( think) about something else. 10. On the morning I _________________(leave) Tokyo it _________________(rain) heavily, but when I _________________(arrive) in Istanbul; it was a beautiful day. The sun_________________(shine), and a warm wind _________________(bl ow). 11. When I_________________(walk) into the kitchen after dinner at night, my mother, _________________(wash) the dishes, so I _________________(pick up) a dish towel and _________________(help) her. 12. A There was a power cut in your part of the town last night. _________________( your li ghts, go out, too? ) B Yes. It _________________(be) terrible! I _________________(wash) my hair when the lights _________________(go out). My sister _________________(find) a flashlight and _________________(rescue) me f rom the bathroom! We couldn’t cook dinner, so we _________________(eat) sandwiches instead. I _________________(try) to study by candle light, but I couldn’t see well enough, so I _________________(go) to bed and _________________(sleep). B. Choose the cor rect answer. 1. After years as a classroom assistant, Alicia finally ................................ a teacher. a. become b. became c. did become 2. I know about the timetable changes. ‘Oh when ................................ you?’ a. they told b. did they told c. did they tell you? 3. My boss ................................ to shout when we were discussing the sales figures. a. was starting b. was started c. started. 4. My mother’s hair is grey now but she ................................ beautiful red hair. a. had had b. used to have c. was having 5. Jeff w as working for medical company................................ he finished his Phd. a. when b. while c. as C. The Past Fill in each blank by putting the verb in (brackets) into the correct past tense. 1 I _________________________(see) my first baseball game when I ____ _____________________(live) in New York. 2 How many pints of beer _________________________(he/drink) before he _________________________ (leave) the pub? 3 It _________________________(rain) so we _________________________(decide) to stay at home all af ternoon. 4 By the time I _________________________(leave) university I _________________________(be) to France fifteen times. 5 What _________________________(you/do) at the time the murder was committed? 6 When we _________________________(get) home we saw that someone _________________________ (break) in to steal the DVD recorder. 7 He _________________________(send/passive) to prison four times before he _______________________ (decide) that it would be better to go straight. 8 I didn't realise I _________________________(lose) my credit cards until I _________________________ (try) to pay for dinner at the restaurant. 9 I _________________________(write) an email to my sister when she _________________________(ring) me. 10 She was so upset by th e news that she _________________________(drop) her tea and _________________________(start) crying. D . Modal verbs 1 Fill the gaps with the modal verbs in the boxes. You may use them more than once. have to don’t / doesn’t have to must mustn’t We _________ 1 decide on this now. The deadline is not until next week so we have plenty of time to think about it. When we think about manufacturing this, we _________ 2 consider whether we should have this product made at home or abroad. In my opinion, we _________ 3 act quickly. I don’t agree with the majority in this case. I don’t think we have enough time. b: Really, we _________ 4 get the agreement signed now. W e _________ 5 rush into this. If we sign an agreement before the design is even finished, there is a risk that we will not have the finished product ready in time. He _________ 6 choose the final materials for manufacturing yet. Let’s do some consumer testing and see how it works first. If we do it now, we may have great problems later. can can’t should shouldn’t We _________ 7 say this product is handmade. It isn’t! That would be breaking the law. When you’re designing a new product, you _________ 8 be too influenced by other people. Each product _________ 9 be driven by one designer’s vision. E . PAST CONTINUOUS 1 What were you doing at the following times? Write one sentence as in the examples. The past continuous is not always necessary (see the second example). 1. (at 8 o'clock yesterday evening) I was having dinner with some friends. 2. (at 5 o'clock last Saturday) I was on a train on my way to London. 3. (at 10.15 yesterday morning)________________________________ 4. (at 4.30 this morning)________________________________ 5. (at 7.45 yesterday evening)______________________________ __ 6. (half an hour ago) ________________________________ 2 Example answers: 2 was having a shower. 3 were waiting for the bus. 4 was reading the paper. 5 was watching it. 3 1 didn't see ... was looking 2 met ... were going ... was going ... had ... we re waiting/waited 3 was cycling ... stepped ... was going ... managed ... didn't hit 4 2. were you doing 3. Did you go out 4. was wearing 5. were you driving / happened 6. took / was not looking 7. didn’t know 8. saw / was trying 9. walked / heard / was following/ started 10. wanted F . 1. 2 It had changed a lot. 3 She had arranged to do something else./She'd arranged. 4 The film had already begun. 5 1 hadn't seen him for five years. 6 She had just had breakfast./She'd just had. 2 2 I had never seen her before./I'd never seen. 3 He had never played tennis before./He'd never played. 4 We had never been there before./We'd never been there before. or ... been to Denmark before. 3 1 called the police 2 there was ... had gone I'd gone 3 had ju st come back from holiday/'d just come ... looked very well 4 had a phone call from Sally was had written to her I 'd written. had never replied to his letters/'d never replied. 4 2 went 3 had gone 4 broke 5 saw ... had broken ... stopped G.1 3 can 4 been able to 5 be able to 6 can 7 be able to 2 Example answers: 2 I used to be able to run fast. 3 I'd like to be able to play a musical instrument. 4 I've never been able to get up early. 3 2 could run 3 can wait 4 couldn't eat 5 can't hear 6 couldn't sleep 4 2 were able to find it. 3 I was able to finish it. 4 was able to get away. 5 4 couldn't/wasn't able to 5 was able to 6 could/was able to 7 was able to 8 could/was able to 9 were able to 10 couldn't/wasn't able to 2 Use your own ideas to complete these sentences. Use the past continuous. 1. Tom burnt his hand while he was cooking the dinner. 2. The doorbell rang while I ________________________________ 3. We saw an accident while we _______________________________ _ 4. Mary fell asleep while she ________________________________ 5. The television was on but nobody ________________________________ 3 Put the verbs into the correct form, past continuous or past simple. 1. I saw (see) Sue in town yesterday but she __________ (look) the other way. 2. I __________ (meet) Tom and Ann at the airport a few weeks ago. They __________ (go) to Berlin and I __________ (go) to Madrid. We __________ (have) a chat while we _________ _ (wait) for our flights. 3. I __________ (cycle) home yesterday when suddenly a man __________ (step) out into the road in front of me. I __________ (go) quite fast but luckily I __________ (manage) to stop in time and __________ (not/hit) him. 4 Put t he verbs into the correct form, past continuous or past simple. 1. Jane was waiting (wait) for me when I arrived (arrive). 2. 'What __________ (you/do) this time yesterday?' 'I was asleep.' 3. '__________ (you/go) out last night?' 'No, I was too tired. ' 4. 'Was Carol at the party last night?' 'Yes, she __________ (wear) a really nice dress.' 5. How fast __________ (you/drive) when the accident __________ (happen)? 6. John __________ (take) a photograph of me while I __________ (not/look). 7. We were in a very difficult position. We __________ (not/know) what to do. 8. I haven't seen Alan for ages. When I last __________ (see) him, he __________ (try) to find a Job in London. 9. I __________ (walk) along the street when suddenly I __________ (hear) footsteps behind me. Somebody __________ (follow) me. I was frightened and I __________ (start) to run. 10. When I was young, I __________ (want) to be a bus driver. F . PAST PERFECT 1 Read the situations and write sentences from the words in brackets. 1. You went to Jill's house but she wasn't there. (she/go/out) She had gone out. 2. You went back to your home town after many years. It wasn't the same as before. (it/change/a lot) _____________________________________. 3. I invited Rachel to the party but she couldn't come. (she/ arrange /to do something else) _____________________________________. 4. You went to the cinema last night. You arrived at the cinema late. (the film/already/begin) _____________________________________. 5. I was very pleased to see tim again after such a long time. (I/not/see/him for five years) _____________________________________. 6. I offered Sue something to eat but she wasn't hungry. (she/just/have/breakfast) _____________________________________ . 2 Read the situations and write sentences ending with before. Use the verb given in brackets. 1. The man sitting next to me on the plane was very nervous. It was his first flight. (fly) He had never flown before. OR He hadn't flown before. 2. A woma n walked into the room. She was a complete stranger to me. (see) I _____________________________________. before. 3. Simon played tennis yesterday. He wasn't very good at it because it was his first game. (play) He _____________________________________. 4. Last year we went to Denmark. It was our first time there (be) We _____________________________________. 3 Use the sentences on the left to complete the paragraphs on the right. These sentences are in the order in which they happened so (1) happene d before (2), (2) before (3) etc. But your paragraph begins with the underlined sentence, so sometimes you need the past perfect. 1.(1) Somebody broke into the office during the night. (2) _We arrived at work in the morning._ (3) We called the police We arrived at work in the morning and found that somebody had broken into the office during the night. So we _____________________________________. 2. (1) Ann went out. (2) _I tried to phone her_ this morning. (3) There was no answer. I tried to phone A nn this morning but ___________. no answer. She _______________________ out. 3. (1) Jim came back from holiday a few days ago. (2) _I met him the same day._ (3) He looked very well. I met Jim a few days ago. He _______________just ________________He _______________. 4. (1) Kevin wrote to Sally many times. (2) She never replied to his letters. (3) _Yesterday he had a phone call from her._ (4) He was very surprised. Yesterday Kevin ________________He ________________very surprised. He ______________ __many times but she ________________ 4 Put the verb into the correct form, past perfect (I had done etc.) or past simple (I did etc.). 1. 'Was Tom at the party when you arrived?' 'No, he had gone (go) home.' 2. I felt very tire when I got home, so I _ _______________ (go) straight to bed. 3. The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody ________________ (go) to bed. 4. Sorry I'm late. The car ________________ (break) down on my way here. 5. We were driving along the road when we _______________ _ (see) a car which. ________________ (break) down, so we ________________ (stop) to see if we could help. G . MODALS 1 Complete the sentences using can or (be) able to. Use can if possible; otherwise use (be) able to. 1. George has travelled a lot. He _can_ speak four languages. 2. I haven't _been able to_ sleep very well recently. 3. Sandra ______ drive but she hasn't got a car. 4. I can't understand Martin. I've never ______ understand him. 5. I used to ______ sta nd on my head but I can't do it now. 6. I can't see you on Friday but I ______ meet you on Saturday morning. 7. Ask Catherine about your problem. She might ______ help you. 2 Write sentences about yourself using the ideas in brackets. 1. (something you used to be able to do) I used to be able to sing well. 2. (something you used to be able to do) I used ________________________. 3. (something you would like to be able to do) I'd ________________________. 4. (something you have never been able to d o) I've ________________________. 3 Complete the sentences with can/can't/could/couldn't + one of these verbs: come cat hear run sleep wait 1. I'm afraid I _can't come_ to your party next week. 2. When Tim was 16, he was a fast runner. He ______ 100 meters in 11 seconds. 3. Are you in a hurry?' 'No, I've got plenty of time. I ______.' 4. I was feeling sick yesterday. I ______ anything. 5. Can you speak up a bit? I ______ you very well. 6. 'You look tired.' 'Yes, I ______ last night,' 4 Complete the answers to the questions with was/were able to. 1 A: Did everybody escape from the fire? B: Yes. Although the fire spread quickly, everybody _was able to escape._ 2 A: Did you have difficulty finding Ann's house? B: Not really. Ann had given us good directions and we _______________. 3. A: Did you finish your work this afternoon? B: Yes. There was nobody to disturb me, so _______________. 4. A: Did the thief get away? B: Yes. No one realised what was happening a nd the thief _______________. 5 Complete the sentences using could, couldn't or was/were able to. 1. My grandfather was a very clever man. He _could_ speak five languages. 2. I looked everywhere for the book but I _couldn't_ find it. 3. They didn't want to come with us at first but we _were able to_ persuade them. 4. Laura had hurt her leg and ______ walk very well. 5. Sue wasn't at home when I phoned but I ______ contact her at her office. 6. I looked very carefully and I ______ se e a figure in the distance. 7. I wanted to buy some tomatoes. The first shop I went to didn't have any but I ______ get some in the next shop. 8. My grandmother loved music. She ______ play the piano very well. 9. A girl fell into the river but fortunat ely we ______ rescue her. 10. I had forgotten to bring my camera so I --take any photographs. H. CLOSE TEST The modern Irish language poet lives in a culture dominated by the English language and indeed (1)............................ Poets – like Pearse, Hutchinson – have written extensively in (2)............................ languages. (3)............................ such as Michael O Siadhail, have moved from one language to (4)............................ . Many poets engage in other media as well, notable drama and the short story, and some have been able to make a ca reer in broadcasting and the print media, though most, in fact earn their livelihood in the civil service or in teaching two or three though have managed to support (5)............................ as full time poets the first time such a thing has happened in Ireland in n early three hundred years. 1 a) any b) either c) every d) some e) both 2 a) neither b) both c) each d) all e) either 3 a) other b) the other c) some other d) another e) others 4 a) the other b) in other words c) every other d) none e) all 5 a) the m b) itself c) themselves d) it e) theirs I. Fill in the blanks with either Ving or I V2. 1.Would you mind ........................ (show) me your boarding pass please? 2. Would you mind .........................(fasten) your belts please? 3.Would you mind ...........................(open) the window? I mean can I open it ? 4.Would you mind......................... (remain) in your seats please? 5. Would you mind......................... (sit) down please? 6. Would you mind if ......................... (call) you about the work tonight? 7.Would you mind......................... (put out) your cigarettes, p lease? 8. Would you mind......................... (open) your suitcase please? 9. Would you mind if......................... (stay) at your house tomorrow? 10.Would you mind......................... (have) another seat please? 11. Would you mind......................... (lend) me some money please? 12.Would you mind ......................... (speak) more slowly, please?