PRESENT SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS EXERCISES

1. Put the verbs into the correct tense (present simple OR present continuous): The
train always ________________(1: leave) on time.
"What's the matter? Why ________________(2: cry/you)?"
That's strange. They________________(3: not to watch) TV. He________________(4:
not to speak) very good English.
Please be quiet! I________________(5: do) my homework.
Where________________(6: live/they)?
Listen! John ________________ music! (7: play)
I never ________________(8: go) to the swimming pool.

Harold Black's a famous pianist. He________________(9: give) two or three concerts

every week. He ________________(10: travel) a lot and this week he's in New York.
He________________(11: stay) at an expensive hotel. He's at his hotel now.
He________________(12: have) his breakfast in the dining−room.
He________________(13: drink) a cup of coffee and he________________(14: read) a
newspaper. Harold's always very busy. He________________(15: play) the piano
regularly. He________________(16: practise) for four hours every day.
He________________(17: go) to bed late and he always ________________(18: get
up) early. But he sometimes________________(19: get) dressed too quickly, and this
morning he________________(20: wear) one blue sock and one red one!

PAST SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS EXERCISES

Fill in the blanks with a correct form, the PAST SIMPLE or the PAST
CONTINUOUS: 1. We ___________________________ (play) volleyball with
Mary, when you
___________________________(call) me.
2. When the teacher ___________________________(come) in, they
___________________________ (study) English.
3. The baby ___________________________ (sleep) when the telephone
___________________________(ring).
4. As I ___________________________ (walk) in the streets of Holland, I
___________________________ (meet) an old friend of mine.
5. I ___________________________ (lose) my car keys.
6. I was looking for my purse when I ___________________________ (drop)
my credit card.
7. My uncle ___________________________ (take) me to the airport
yesterday.
8. She ___________________________ (dance) when she hurt her ankle.
9. It ___________________________ (rain) heavily when I got up.
10. I ___________________________ (see) the thief while he
___________________________ (get) into my neighbor’s house.

Simple present – present progressive – simple past ? Fill in the correct

tense.
Every summer our class (go) on a short trip. Last
 year we (go) to a zoo. Our teacher
( be) very nervous. Teachers
(be) often nervous on a school trip. But why?
We (not understand) that. I
(take) lots of photos of a baby elephant with
my cell phone. "Why you
(not take) photos of other animals, too?" my friend
(ask) me. But I (not want) to take photos of
other animals. I (want) to take photos of all
my friends. They (have) some bananas
and (show) them to the gorillas. "What
you (do) there? Come
to me!" our teacher (shout). We
(find) a nice place for a picnic. But nobody
(eat) a banana, but the gorillas
(have) a nice lunch that day. It (be) a great day
at the zoo, and we (have) a lot of fun.

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

They (drive) to to Manchester.

Manchester. Future:
Present simple: They beautifully.
They Past simple:
to Susan
Manchester.
to Manchester. Present perfect:
Present progressive: They beautifully.
They Past progressive:
Susan
to Manchester.
to Manchester.
Past simple: Susan (sing) beautifully.
They beautifully. Future:
Present simple: Susan
to Susan
Manchester.
Past progressive: beautifully.
They beautifully. Present perfect:
Present progressive:
Susan
Susan
beautifully.
 in a shop. in a shop.
I (work) in a shop. Past simple: Future:
Present simple: I
I in
I in a shop.
a shop. in a shop. Present perfect:
Present progressive: Past progressive:
I
I I in a shop.
Present Tense – Simple or Progressive: Fill in the correct form.
1.You can’t see Tom now. He _________________ a bath. (have)
2.He usually _________________ coffee, but today he _________________
tea.(drink, drink)
3.I won’t go out now because it _________________ and I
_________________ an umbrella.(rain, not have)
4.In Spain women usually _________________ hats.(not wear)
5.Who _________________ that terrible noise? It is John. He
_________________ his nose.(make, blow)
6.My dentist always keeps _________________ me to clean my teeth. I hate
that. (tell)
7.He never _________________ to the theatre. (go)
8.I _________________ this weekend in Eastbourne. I _________________
there nearly every week. (spend, go)
9.My wife always keeps _________________ for more money at the end of the
week.(ask)
10. Who _________________ to on the phone? (you speak)
11. Anne _________________ all her clothes. At the moment she
_________________ a dress for herself. (make, make)
12. What’s that smell? Something _________________ in the kitchen. (burn)

13. I _________________ overtime this month because I

_________________ up to buy a new car. (work, save)
14. He _________________ thirty cigarettes a day but at the moment he
_________________ very hard to stop. (smoke, try)
15. Dorothy __________________ to read a good novel in her holidays
(love)
16. My brother __________________ Italy the very moment I speak (tour)
17. Such bad behaviour __________________ me mad (make).
18. He usually __________________ out on Saturday night. (go)
19. She __________________ by train to Liverpool today. (depart)
20. They __________________ a game of cards right now. (have)
21. What __________________ , Mom? (you bake)
22. Songs that are not popular __________________ very well (not sell)
23. I __________________ a hat today because it is a special day (wear)
24. __________________ to the bridge club? (you belong)
25. The car __________________ oil. Can you fix it? (lose)
26. Our children __________________ playing in the hut (enjoy)
27. The headmaster rarely __________________ a class (teach)
28. __________________ if I ask a question? (you mind)
29. I __________________ some money because we
__________________ to Vienna for the weekend. (save, travel)

Past Tense – Simple or Progressive: Fill in the correct form.

30. George ________________ off the ladder while he ________________
the ceiling. (fall, paint)
31. Last night I ________________ in bed when I suddenly
________________ a scream. (read, hear)
32. ________________ TV when I ________________ you? (you watch,
phone)
33. Ann ________________ for me when I ________________ . (wait,
arrive)
34. Maisie ________________ up the kitchen when John
________________ her to marry him. (clean, ask)
35. The house ________________ £ 150,000 in 2003. (cost)
36. The fire _______________________ at six in the morning. (still burn)
37. My brother ________________ a new job a week ago (get).
38. Columbus ________________ America over 500 years ago (discover)
39. She ________________ not interested in the book because she
________________ it (be ,not understand)
40. ________________ at school yesterday? (you be)
41. We ________________ in a house near the sea last summer (live)
42. She ________________ the piano very well when she
________________ young (can play, be)
43. She ________________ the office very early last night (leave).
44. I ________________ a friend while I ________________ the shopping
(meet, do)
45. I ________________ for my things when I ________________ someone
call my name (pay, hear)
46. I ________________ around and ________________ Judy. (turn, see)
47. She ________________ a bright yellow dress when I
________________ her last (wear, see)
48. We ________________ to have a cup of tea. (decide)
49. While the waiter ________________ up the pieces of glass he
________________ his finger (pick, cut)
50. Then we ________________ the cafe and ________________ good bye
(leave, say)
51. I ________________ the fire at six and it ________________ brightly
when Tom came in at seven. (light, still burn)
52. My dog ________________ along quietly when Mary’s Pekinese
________________ him. (walk, attack)
53. When I ________________ she ________________ lunch. She said she
always ________________ lunch at 12:30. (arrive, have, have)
54. What ________________ of his last book? –I ________________ it a lot
(you think, like)
55. He suddenly ________________ that he ________________ in
the wrong direction. (realize, travel)
56. He ________________ guitar when someone ________________
the window and ________________ out a bucket of water. (play,
open, throw)
57. He ________________ us to go out in the boat yesterday because
a strong wind ________________ (notallow,blow)
58. The next day, as they ________________ that the police
________________ for them, they ________________ the coats
in the woods and ________________ off in different directions.
(know, look, hide, go)
59. When I ________________ home they ________________
around a fire. Jack ________________ a crossword puzzle, Judy
________________ and the others ________________ . Mother
________________ at me and said : “ Come and sit down”
(come, sit, do, knit, read, smile)

Past or Present Perfect Tense – Simple form

60. The weather _________________ (be) awful in the past few days.
61. We _________________ (wash) the dishes. They’re clean now.
62. _____________________________ (your course, start) yet?
63. Emma _________________ (pack) her suitcase last night.
64. They _________________ (close) the factory. – Really? When
______________________ (that happen) ?
65. Shall we play tennis? We _________________ (not play) since we were
children.
66. The airplane _________________ (land) . The pilot is just getting out.
67. Prices _________________ (go) up. Everything is more expensive this
year.
68. I’m tired. We _________________ (walk) 10 miles.
69. The Queen _________________ (arrive) in an RAF helicopter last night.

70. How long ______________________ (Vicky, have) that camera? – For

about a month.
71. We ______________________ (just come) back from our holidays.
72. You parcel _________________ (arrive). The postman
_________________ (bring) it two hours ago.
73. He _________________ (be) at his computer for two hours.
74. We _________________ (live) there for ten years but we
_________________ (be) in Birmingham for the last two.
75. We _________________ (not have) a party for ages.
76. My sister’s car is only a year old but she
___________________________ (already crash) it.
77. Dinosaurs _________________ (roam) the earth millions of years ago.
78. It _____________________ (not rain) yet today.
79. __________________________ (you see) last week’s magazine? - It
must be here somewhere.

Fill in the blanks using MUST, MUSTN’T, DON’T HAVE

TO, SHOULD, SHOULDN’T, MIGHT, CAN,
CAN’T !
80. Rose and Ted _________________ be good players.
They have won hundreds of cups !
81. You _________________ pay to use the library. It’s
free.
82. I’m not sure where my wife is at the moment.
She _________________ be at her dance
class.
4. Jerry _________________
5. You _________________
6. You _________________
7. Dad _________________
8. You don’t have to shout. I _________________ hear
you very well.
9. It _________________ be him. I saw him a week
ago, and he didn’t look like that.
10. You look pretty tired. I think you
_________________ go to bed early tonight.
11.Letmelook.I_________________ beabletohelpyou.
12. “Children, you _________________ cross the street
if the lights are red !”
13. You _________________ sit so near the TV. It’s bad
for your eyes.
14. I’m sorry but I _________________ give you a lift
because my car is broken.
15. I _________________ stop and talk to you now. I
have to get to the library.
16. You really _________________ go to the Louvre if
you’re in Paris. It’s wonderful.
17. You _________________ come to the party if you
don’t feel well.
18. I don’t know where Kelly is. She
_________________ be at her sister’s .
19. You have passed all your tests. You
_________________ be very pleased with yourself.