some exercises

Irregular verbs

a. Put the verbs in brackets in the simple past.

1. Imane ……………… to find that it was already ten o’clock. (awake)
2. I ……………… nervous as the final exam came closer. (become)
3. He ……………… reading ‘War and Peace’ last month and he still haven’t finished it. (begin)
4. A rich woman ……………… $2.000.000 for the two paintings. (bid)
5. The police ……………… the criminal’s hands behind his back. (bind)
6. Hicham El-Guerrouj ……………… the world record for the 1500 metres in 3.26.00 minutes. (break)
7. The BBC first ……………… in 1936. (broadcast)
8. They ……………… a new public library near my school. (build)
9. It was a huge fire and all the furniture ………………. (burn)

1. She ……………… a woollen scarf for her husband in Paris. (buy)
2. The policewoman ran after the thief and ……………… him. (catch)
3. I ……………… first in the latest English test. (come)
4. The cat ……………… silently towards the mouse and caught it. (creep)
5. He ……………… his finger with a knife. (cut)
6. I woke up to find that I wasn’t really rich. I only ……………… it. (dream)
7. The old lady’s loneliness ……………… her to commit suicide. (drive)
8. My little brother ……………… over and hurt his knee. (fall)
9. She ……………… a piece of glass in the pizza. (find)

c. Put the verbs in brackets in the simple past.

1. When the hunter fired his gun the tiger turned and ……………… (flee)
2. My sister ……………… a job as a secretary in a bank. (get)
3. Jalil’s uncle ……………… him a digital camera for his birthday. (give)
4. My grandfather ……………… blind when he was sixty. (go)
5. The young man ……………… himself in a fit of depression. (hung)
6. A motorbike ……………… the old lady while she was crossing the street. (hit)
7. My grandmother ……………… a sweater for the coming winter. (knit)
8. She ……………… her baby gently down on its bed. (lay)
9. Pablo Picasso ……………… Spain and went to live in France. (leave)

d. Put the verbs in brackets in the simple past.

1. The paintings ……………… a touch of beauty to the office. (lend)
2. He ……………… his family in a road accident last year. (lose)
3. The manager’s stupid remark ……………… the situation worse. (make)
4. He ……………… the lawn once last month. (mow)
5. He ……………… nearly $100 for these jeans. (paid)
6. I ……………… in the newspaper that they found a cure for migraine. (read)
7. The temperature nearly ……………… to 45° yesterday. (rise)
8. The teacher ……………… we should hand in our composition on ‘air pollution’ before Friday. (say)
9. He ……………… his car for nearly nothing. (sell)

e. Put the verbs in brackets in the simple past.

1. He asked a man the way to the nearest post office but he ……………… me in the wrong way. (send)
2. As he was very hungry, the wife ……………… a large bowl of soup in front of her husband. (set)
3. The young lady’s voice ……………… with sorrow as she described the deadly accident. (shake)
4. The hunter ………………the deer in its back. (shoot)
5. The little girl ……………… herself in her bedroom and refused to talk to her parents. (shut)
6. Titanic ……………… to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. (sink)
7. I only ……………… for a couple of hours last night. (sleep)
8. ‘The murderer ……………… his hand into his pocket, took out a gun and killed the lady,’ the witness
9. said. (slide)
10. I ……………… two weeks in London last summer. (spend)

f. Put the verbs in brackets in the simple past.

1. Jalil ……………… round when he heard someone call his name. (spin)
2. She took a small sip of the juice and ……………… it out. (spit)
3. The bad weather ……………… our holiday. (spoil)
4. The terrorist kidnapped a little girl and ……………… a car. (steal)
5. The epidemic ……………… the village within a few days. (sweep)
6. It ……………… me five years to learn German. (take)
7. My parents ……………… always to tell the truth. (teach)
8. He ……………… on my toe and didn’t even say sorry
9. Tolstoy ……………… ‘War and Peace’. (write)

The Passive

a. Turn these sentences into the passive.

b. Turn these sentences into the passive.

1. Ziryab composed some beautiful love songs.
2. Hind lost her family in a road accident.
3. The customer ordered a green salad and a cheese sandwich.
4. I was cleaning my room when the light went out.
5. My wife was making a pizza when I arrived home.
6. The teacher was explaining the irregular verbs to the students.
7. She had taken all my books.
8. I replied the teacher’s question politely.
9. Pablo Picasso had painted Guernica in 1937.

c. Turn these sentences into the passive.

1. Jalil and Jamal will finish the job tomorrow.
2. The dog will eat the bone.
3. They will move before June.
4. He will have begun the job by next week.
5. Man will have set colonies in the moon by the year 2050.
6. I will have completed his high studies by the end of next year.
7. They are going to have some Chinese food for dinner.
8. Jalil is going to offer me a watch for my coming birthday.
9. She is going to invite her friends for lunch next weekend.

d. Turn these sentences into the passive.

1. Jalil can speak two foreign languages.
2. The firm may give a high rise to the workers.
3. The lazy students might get weak marks in the test.
4. Jamal should learn the irregular verbs.
5. Drivers ought to respect the traffic law.
6. Obese people had better practise sport everyday.
7. Moroccan people must apply for visas to travel to the UK.
8. The prisoners have to clean their cells every weekend.

e. Turn these sentences into the passive.

1. My little brother should have broken the vase.
2. He should have got a bad mark in the French test.
3. Students ought to have learned the irregular verbs by heart.
4. The bank may have received my fax.
5. The boss may have offered Jamal a new duty in the company.
6. She might have done the homework correctly.
7. They might have had dinner in a Chinese diner.
8. The ministers of foreign affairs might have talked about the world economic crisis.

Tenses

Exercise 1

Put the words in brackets in the correct present tense .

• He (hate) living in Britain because it (rain) a lot. Key
• I'm sorry I can't hear what you (say) because everybody (talk) so loudly. Key

Exercise 2

Put the verbs in brackets in the past tense .

1. They (watch) an American movie when Sue called last night. Key
2. If I (drink) so much coffee, I would not be able to sleep. Key
3. I'm really hungry because I (not, have) breakfast this morning. Key
4. I (fall) off my bike yesterday, but I (not, hurt) myself. Key
5. Allan (get) wet while he (walk) in the rain.Key
6. They (slip) and (fall) while they (climb) the mountain. Key
7. I (can, not) see you yesterday. I (be) out of town. Key

Exercise 3

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct future tense .

• They (climb) the Himalaya Mountains this time next year. Key
• Nancy (take) her final exams in a couple of days’ time. Key
• By 2025, Mr. Smith and his wife (retire). Key
• The maid (clean) the rooms tonight. Key
• In five years’ time, the local authorities (build) a new hospital in this area. Key
• “I’m not certain you (pass) your driving test,” Betty told James. Key
• I (have) a cup of tea and (watch) football this time next Sunday. Key

Exercise 4

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense .

1. I don't understand you. What (you, talk) about? Key
2. By the end of 2007, Susan (teach) English for ten years in South Korea. Key
3. Mr. Smith (travel) widely since he was 16. Key
4. How long you (work) as a computer programmer?Key
5. If you (not, find) my wallet, I would have been very sad. Key
6. The leader of the party (talk) for hours about nothing. Key
7. (You, go) to the pictures next Sunday in the evening? Key

Exercise 5

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense .

1. The athletes (train) for the Olympic Games at the moment. Key
2. How long you (work) in this school? Key
3. Call on me after midday. I (arrive) home by then. Key
4. She (promise) herself she would never make the same mistake again. Key
5. “(You, can) park your car over there,” the policeman told the driver. Key
6. My uncle (take) me to pictures tomorrow. Key
7. (You, sing) at Kate’s birthday party two days ago? Key