- Level 4 ch 2 - Past and Present Tenses revision (Part 1)

VERB TENSES

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

The present progressive is used to talk about things that are
happening "at" the time of speaking and things that are happening
"around" the time of speaking.

situation: example:
John is in his car on his way to work. He IS DRIVING to work.
Mary is in her bathtub. She IS TAKING a bath.
You are in the middle of an English course,
so it is correct to say: I AM LEARNING English.

SIMPLE PRESENT

The simple present is used to talk about habits, things that happen
repeatedly and things that are generally true. Look at the examples:

DOES John VISIT his mother on Sundays? Fred LIKES ice cream.
Ed PLAYS tennis; he DOESN'T PLAY golf. Harry WORKS at Berlitz.
I often DRINK wine, I DON'T DRINK beer. Ann and Ted LIVE in Mainz.

SIMPLE PAST

The simple past is used to talk about actions completed at a certain time
in the past:

Last year, Paul WENT to Spain. (Last year is finished.)
I DRANK two cups of coffee yesterday. (Yesterday is now finished.)
DID Janet GO to the party? (The party is over.)
Jerry WORKED while he ATTENDED school.
(He doesn't do either anymore)

PAST PROGRESSIVE

The past progressive is used to talk about things that were happening
at a particular time in the past or to describe an action that was
going on when it was interrupted by another action. Here are some
examples:

At 11:00, Jack WAS READING. Jack WAS READING when I called him.
We WERE SLEEPING at 7:00AM. We WERE SLEEPING when the alarm rang.
It WASN'T RAINING this morning. It WASN'T RAINING when I left.

How often _________ swimming?
1. do you go
2. you go
3. you are going
4. are you going
Alfred usually ________ his mother on Skype because it's cheaper
1. calls
2. is calling
3. call
4. calling
Tom and Harry aren't very athletic. As far as I know, they _______ any games when they were at school!
1. never play
2. never played
3. were never playing
4. are never playing
My brother was born in San Francisco. He still _______ there now and says he'll never move away.
1. living
2. lives
3. live
4. was living
My wife ________ to Toronto on business. Her plane takes off in 5 minutes.
1. flew
2. is flying
3. flies
4. was flying
Martin is extremely lazy. He ________ in front of the television all day every day
1. sit
2. is sitting
3. was sitting
4. sits
I can't believe that Joe actually __________ all the way across the English Channel
1. swam
2. swim
3. swum
4. was swimming
You can see Janet now She _________ at the moment.
1. doesn't work
2. didn't work
3. isn't working
4. wasn't working
Jose _________ to Spain last week. I really miss him.
1. was returning
2. is returning
3. return
4. returned
John ________ the road when the accident happened.
1. didn't watch
2. doesn't watch
3. wasn't watching
4. isn't watching
Look over there! Why _______ Karen ? I thought they didn't get along.
1. does John kiss
2. is John kissing
3. John kisses
4. John is kissing
____________ which way Mary went ?
1. Do you see
2. Were you seeing
3. Did you see
4. Are you seeing
Jack won't come to the restaurant with us because he only _________ vegetarian food.
1. eats
2. ate
3. was eating
4. is eating
Jill _________ at 7:00 this morning when her telephone rang.
1. is waking up
2. was waking up
3. woke up
4. wakes up
Studying at home is very important but some students always _______ to do just enough to get by. What do you do outside class time?
1. are trying
2. were trying
3. tried
4. try
Margaret is in the kitchen. She ____________ dinner, I hope.
1. is cooking
2. cooks
3. was cooking
4. cooked
See that smoke over there ? Mr Murphy ________ leaves. He does it every autumn.
1. is burning
2. was burning
3. burned
4. burns
No, Greg can't come out to play. He ____________.
1. studied.
2. studies.
3. was studying.
4. is studying.
__________ when I called?
1. Were you reading
2. Are you reading
3. Do you read
4. Did you read
Cheryl ________ television at the moment.
1. didn't watch
2. doesn't watch
3. isn't watching
4. never watches

- Level 4 ch 2 - Past and Present Tenses revision (Part 1)

Quiz