Download Present Simple - Present Perfect

Exercises for Part II, Grammar I
The following exercises have been taken from previous exams. They are arranged, more or
less, according to the tenses, as they might appear in the exam paper itself.
You should fill in the gaps, using the words given in brackets. Sometimes you might have to
change the word order around. Watch out for questions (? at the end of a sentence) or
negatives (not included in the brackets). Look at the examples below
Example 1:
Question .How long .............................. (you / live) in Thailand?
Answer ....How long have you lived in Thailand?
Example 2:
Question ...................................................(you / work) late this evening?
Answer .......Can you work late this evening?
When you have finished the exercises send me a copy of your work and I will send you
the answer key.
Present simple
This is a list of sentences that use the simple present
Things to remember
1.
The third person, he, she, or it has an –s or –es as ending
2.
When you ask a question, you need to use the right form* of do, as a helping verb.
3.
When you make a negative statement (with not) you also need to use the right form* of do.
4.
Many questions use a so-called question word, such as when, how, who, where etc.
5.
Remember to use the correct word order with questions.
6.
Try to work out why the simple present is used for these tenses.
*What is the right form of do?
When you have to use the helping verb do, you should remember that with the third person singular, he,
she, it, you use does, with all the other persons, I, you, we, they you need to use do.
Exercises
1. ..................................................................................... (the machine/ be/ supplied) with a manual?
2. .............................................(connect) the green and yellow wire to the earth, the brown to the live
and blue to the neutral terminals of the plug.
3. What .......................(be) the problem? Three simple test ................................(not / can) possibly take
all day!
4. At sea level, pure water ......................(boil) at 100°C.
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
1
5. Excuse, .................................(be) seat free?
6. For engine blocks, we ............................. (use) a light alloy mixture of titanium, aluminium and silver.
7. He .........................(be) an electronics engineer.
8. ............................... (he / like / not) like beer very much.
9. He is strange, he .......................(believe) that the world is flat, not round.
10. He usually ............................. (work) at the weekends.
11. I usually.................................. (not / work) at the weekend.
12. If programme ...................... (crash) again, then ..................(contact) the manufacturers.
13. If your computer ................(crash), you ...........................(need) to boot it up again.
14. Mathematics and physics ......................(be) not popular subjects in school today.
15. Museums in Germany ..............................(be / close) on Mondays.
16. Our production ................................ (be) based on a three-shift system.
17. Satellite and cable TV ............................ (be) a standard part of almost every household in Germany.
18. Smoking .....................................(be) bad for you!
19. Sorry, I ...................................(not / drink) alcohol. ....................................... (you / have) any mineral
water?
20. The company ............................... (operate) a just-in-time supply system, although sometimes we
.................... (have to) stock some components for up to four weeks before they
...............................(be) used.
21. The next applicant for the job ................................. (have) excellent paper qualifications, but
apparently little practical experience.
22. The reception ...........................(be) at 10:30, but the first presentation ..............................(start) at
12:00.
23. The standard of football in this year’s EM ........................................(be) superb.
24. The symposium .......................... (start) with an address from the chairperson, and then
.......................... (kick off) with a paper on ”Recent Developments in Nanotechnology and BioIntelligence.”
25. These machines ......................................... (work) for over twelve hundred hours not-stop.
26. This machine usually .................................(run) without a break for up to 120 hours.
27. To fasten screws you usually .......................... (use) a screwdriver.
28. Today, physics and mathematics ...................(be) less popular than ever with students!
29. Twice a year, day and night length ....................(be) the same: this ..................(be) called the
equinox.
30. What materials ...................................................... (a carpenter / work with)?
31. What ..........................................(you / do) in the laboratory?
32. What time ...........................................................................(cinema / open)?
33. When ............................................................ (Andy / start) work?
34. When ..................................................... (banks / open)?
35. Where ......................................(you / come) from?
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
2
36. Which newspapers and journals .........................................(you / read)?
37. ................... (work) hard and (play) hard. That ..................(be) my motto for life!
38. She usually ............................................ (work) a twenty hours a week.
39. When.................................................................................................(you / can) start work?
40. The boss ............................................(want) to hear any more excuses, we have to finish the work by
April.
41. These days, nobody ....................(learns) how to become an amateur radio operator, the Internet
............(stop) all that.
42. Usually we ....................................... (leave) the presentations to Joe, but you ....................... (have
to) do them tomorrow as he .........................(be) ill.
43. The revised plan ........................... (include) a budget allocation for marketing in the Asia Pacific
region.
44. The banks usually.................................. (open) at the 9 o’clock on weekdays.
Present Continuous
This list of sentences that use the present continuous
Things to remember
1. This tense uses a present tense form of the verb be, such as am, is, are and the main verb
with an –ing ending, such as work + ing = working, read + ing = reading.
2. Sometimes you have to drop or double up the end letter of the main verb, such as ride + ing =
riding, or swim + m + ing = swimming.
3. Try to work why this tense is used and not, for instance, the present simple when talkingabout
the present.
4. Remember, this form is also used, often with the verbs going to and plan, to describe the
planned future (see Planned Future I)
Exercises
1. ........................................ (Huan / stay) with you during her visit?
2. ‘Ah, good morning! ................................. (Suzie / work) today?
3. At present, we ................................. (develop) a revised hybrid diesel motor.
4. Both my brothers ...................................... (study) at Cambridge, Paul ...................... (study)
mathematics and philosophy, Jim ............................ (study) medicine.
5. Can you call back, they ................................... (shop) in town at present.
6. Careful! The temperature in the furnace ............................... (rise) too quickly!
7. Computer training in schools ................................ (improve / slowly).
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
3
8. Could you be quiet please! I ................................... (try) to read the newspaper.
9. Currently, the R&D department .......................... (work) on a new diesel fuel injector technology.
10. Currently, we ..........................(work) on a satellite project.
11. Economic prospects ................................... (look up) at last.
12. He is not in today, he ..................................... (relax) at home.
13. How ...................................... (you /get on) in your new job?
14. I am sorry, I cannot help you at present. I .......................... (give) Joe a hand with his lab work.
15. It’s still only 16:00, where ............................. (you / go)?
16. Joe and Inge ....................................... (work) on the Nano Project, and I ........................ (work) on
the Bio-interface Project.
17. Look! Someone .............................. (break into) your car!
18. Oh no, it .................................. (snow) again. We should cancel our trip until tomorrow.
19. Oil prices ............................... (rise) again.
20. Rex ................................... (stay) with us during his visit to Germany.
21. She ................................ (wait) for last month’s money to arrive.
22. The job situation for machine engineers...................................................... (get) better, and many
German companies ................................................ (recruit) again.
23. The need for qualified Internet engineers ............................(increase), but the universities in
Germany ...................(not / produce) nearly enough to meet demand.
24. The number of young people out of work ............................. (increase) again.
25. The project ................................. (not / progress) fast enough, we need more people.
‘Planned Future’
This is a list of sentences that use the so-called ‘planned’ future
Things to remember
1. This tense is also sometimes refer to as the ‘... going to’ future tense, and it is used to
describe events in future that have some idea of being planned, or thought of before they are
mentioned.
2. Sometimes the use of ...going to is optional, but the main verb then has to be in the –ing form.
3. The verb plan actually means preparing something for the future and often can be either used
in the simple present or planned future. in the exercises below, write out both alternatives for
plan. For example, ... we plan to launch a new range in July..., means the same as ...we are
planning to launch a new range in July.
4. Do not forget that when you use the simple present of plan to ask questions or make negative
statements about the future, you still need to use the helping verb do/does.
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
4
5. Sometimes we use this tense form when we want to describe something that is certain to
happen in the near future.
Exercises
1. ................................ (you / do) anything this weekend?
2. ...................................................(you / go) away for the summer holidays, or
.......................................(work)?
3. It looks as if it .......................... (rain) soon.
4. Karl ................................. (not/ leave) until the report has been finished.
5. Look at that idiot! He ................................(to fall) in front of the train if he is not careful!
6. Oh dear, the boss ............................. (not / go) be happy about these results!
7. The plan has changed, we ............................ (not /go) to attend the Europax Trade Fair next year.
8. These figures strongly suggest it ............................(be) a long, hard winter, unless demand picks up.
9. This summer ......................................................................(we/ go) to the South of France for three
weeks. Where..........................................................................(you/ go) for your holidays?
10. This summer I .......(plan) to go to the USA to work.
11. We ...................(plan) to launch the new model at next year’s car show.
12. When .................................(they / plan) to launch the new SUV model?
13. When .................................(you / plan) to finish the audit?
14. When ........................................ (you / plan) to finish your studies?.
15. Where .................................... (you / go) for your summer vacation?
Simple Past
This is a list of sentences that use the simple past
Things to remember
7.
For regular verbs the simple past is formed by adding –ed to the end of the infinitive, such a
walk + -ed = walked. You have to learn the simple form of irregular verbs, and this can be as
a list in good dictionaries and grammar books.
8.
When you ask a question, you need to use did, the simple past form of do, as a helping verb.
9.
When you make a negative statement (with not) you also need to use did.
10. Many questions use a so-called question word, such as when, how, who, where etc.
11. Remember to use the correct word order with questions.
12. The simple past is used when there is some idea of something being ‘finished’ in the past, and
not connected to the present, in contrast to the present perfect.
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
5
13. Words and phrases that give time information about the past, such as last week, yesterday, in
1997, last century, a week ago, are often used with the simple past.
Exercises
1. ................................... (the machine/ be/ supplied) with a manual?
2. After ........................... (he / finish) his studies at university, Jörg ..................(work) for Siemens
before starting his own business.
3. After I .........................(finish) my studies, I.................(work) for six years abroad, in Malaysia, before
returning to Germany.
4. As a teenager............................... (I/ like / not) whisky very much.
5. As part of his studies, he ..................................(do) four practical training course in industry: two in
Germany, and two abroad.
6. He ......................(study) communications in Germany, but then .......................(move) to MIT, in the
USA.
7. He .........................(be) an electronics engineer, before he .......................... (retire) ten years ago.
8. Henry ............................ (telephone) yesterday to apologise for missing the meeting.
9. How long .................................. (Mr. Richter / work) for the company before moving to Siemens?
10. How long .................................. (you / take) to complete the last experimental series?
11. How long .................................... (you/ work) at Siemens, before starting at AEG?
12. I once ..............................(spend) a very pleasant weekend in Lyon, the home of French cuisine.
13. In 1997, she ......................(spend) three months in Cincinnati, in the USA, and four months at Isusu,
in Tokyo.
14. In the 70s, our production ................................ (be) based on a three-shift system.
15. In the past, the company ............................... (operate) a standard, warehouse-based supply system,
before they ............................. (change) to the ‘just-in-time’ system.
16. Last month our sales ...................................(be) up by 5%.
17. Last month’s Denver Symposium .......................... (start) with an address from the chairperson, and
then .......................... (kick off) with a paper on ”Recent Developments in Nanotechnology and BioIntelligence.”
18. Last year’s budget ........................... (include) a budget allocation for marketing in the Asia Pacific
region.
19. Mathematics and physics ......................(be) popular school subjects fifty years ago.
20. Our presentation ......................(not / be / accept) for last year’s international conference.
21. Robert and his sales team .......................(think) the presentation yesterday ................(be) good,
but......................................................(have / like) more information on foreign markets.
22. Sadly he .................................. (retire) two years ago, due to ill-health.
23. Suzie .........................(want) to travel to Tibet last year, but ..............(have to) work instead.
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
6
24. Joanna..................(think) the lecture yesterday .........(be) rubbish. What ............................(you/ think)
of it?
25. Thailand ............................................(make) a slight economic recovery last year.
26. The job applicant yesterday ................................. (have) better paper qualifications, but less practical
experience.
27. The reception ...........................(be) at 10:30, but the first presentation ..............................(start) at
12:00.
28. The standard of football in last year’s World Cup ........................................(be) superb.
29. They .......................................... (ring) yesterday to cancel the meeting.
30. What .......................(be) the problem yesterday with production ?
31. What .................................(you / do) in the laboratory when you ........................... (work) for Henkel?
32. What ........................................... (you / do) last weekend?
33. When .....................................................(you / last / see) her? Three years ago, at the TOP
conference?
34. When...........................................................(your contract/ run out)? Last year?
35. Where ......................(you, born) and ......................(you, grow up) there?.
36. You’re too late, Joe’s presentation ..............................(be) yesterday!
Present perfect
This is a list of sentences that use the present perfect
Things to remember
1. The present perfect uses a present tense form of the verb have, and the past participle of the
main verb: for regular verbs, you simply add –ed to the end of the infinitive, work + ed =
worked; for irregular verbs you have to learn the correct form, which you can find as a list in
most good dictionaries and grammar books.
2. This tense is used to combine events started in the past but which have a connection to the
present of very recent past.
3. It is often used to tell someone new information, news etc., or to ask questions about
something that started in the past and is perhaps not finished.
Exercises
1. ...........................................(she / finish / yet), we have been waiting for three weeks?
2. It ................................... (happen) again! Why ................................ (he / not / yet / learn) to do the
test properly!
3. The standard of refereeing in the World Cup this year ................................................(be) dreadful!
(The competition is over)
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
7
4. Modern satellite communications .................................................. (revolutionize) global navigation
during the last ten years.
5. The manufacture of motor vehicles .......................................(change) dramatically over the past
twenty years.
6. Take your time! But when you ........................................................................(finish), hand in your
papers to the examiner.
7. He .........................................................(never, work) in his life and ..............................................(be/
unemployed) for 15 years.
8. Hello, is that MasterCard, the credit card company? My cards .............................(steal), I can you
cancel them at once, please?
9. ......................................(Suzie / finish) the report yet? She should have handed it in last week!
10. ‘Wow, we .................................. (just / got) the Siemens contract.
11. ..................................(you / hear)? We ........................... (win) the Hong Kong contract.
12. ........................................(you / start) the report yet, it has to be in by the end of the week?
13. ................................(you / hear) the rumour? ICC ................................(also / submit) a bid for the
Ford contract.
14. ...................................... (see / you) the latest sales figure? They don’t look too good!
15. Suzie ............................... (not / yet / see) the new proposals for re-structuring, ................... (have /
you)?
16. .........................................(you / ever / be) to Australia?
17. Can you wait please! I ........................... (just / arrive) from Dublin, and need some time to think.
18. They ........................................ (not / finish) the meeting yet.
19. ................................... (see) the latest Lord of the Rings film yet? No. I ............................. (have /
not), is it good?
20. I can see that he .............................. (not / do) this job before. Perhaps we should get someone else
to do it.
21. The company’s latest project ....................(get off) to a go start; we are well ahead of schedule.
22. The weather .................(be) bad. It .................................... (ruin) our new launch.
23. Our presentation ......................................(not / be / accept) for next year’s
24. .................................... (you / ever / be) to Singapore?
25. Jim.........................................(be) ill for the past four weeks, and we ..............................(have to)
postpone last week’s meeting until tomorrow
Modal Verbs
Things to remember
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
8
14. Modal verbs have several uses. They are used like ‘helping’ verbs, such as do and have. For
instance, used in the simple present the verb takes the person and the main verb returns to
the infinitive.
15. Many English modal verbs have similar meanings to their equivalents in German.
16. The word order is similar to that in German.
Modal Verbs – can –could; should; have to; might, would like to, etc
Exercises
1. (I/ invite)...................................................................you to visit us in London, perhaps you
................................................................................(give) us a talk about your company’s activities?
2. ........................... (I /borrow) your car tonight?
3. ........................................ (we / postpone) the meeting until tomorrow? I .......................... (have to)
visit our supplier in Trier.
4. I ..............................(not / can) make our appointment on Monday. (you / can) .................................
make next Tuesday?
5. I’m sorry, but I ...............................(not/ make) next Tuesday’s appointment. ...............................( we/
arrange) another date?
6. If I ............................................(can) afford it, I would buy a new house.
7. Look, we just .....................(have to) face up to the facts. The company’s survival
.....................(depend) on cutting costs, including jobs.
8. Too much work ....................................(not / be) good for you. You (shall) ...............................take a
break.
9. When............................................( you / can) start work?
10. With a 5% increase in sales this quarter, we .......................(can) expect a healthy profit.
Future – ‘will’ (spontaneous ideas, offers and promises)
Exercises
1. Don’t worry. Jim .................................(meet) you at the reception.
2. Don’t worry about a taxi, I ..........................(pick / you / up) from the airport. When ................... (your
flight / land)?
3. Thank you, I think .......................(have) a black coffee.
4. Hello there Ms Robbins! Please ..................(take) a seat for a moment. I ...................... (be) with you
in a minute.’
Don’t worry, I ................. (will) carry the heavy bags to the car.
Mixed Bag-1
Things to remember
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
9
In real life use of English it is often the case that a sentence contains more than one tense. The following
collection of sentences provides examples of the different mixtures of tenses that commonly occur. Try to
understand the sense of each of the sentences before trying to fill in the gaps.
Present Simple – Present Progressive
Exercises
1. At present, I .................not (have) a job, but ...................(look) for one in the IT sector.
2. Normally, ................................(he/ give) a good presentation, but today .............................(he/
struggle) to get his message across.
3. The ticket office normally ............................(close) at 18:00, but today it ..........................(stay) open
until 20:00 to cope with extra demand for Robbie Williams tickets.
4. They...................................................(come) from India, but ....................................................(work)
here on a short-term contract.
5. Usually I ....................(walk) to work , but today I ............................... (go) by car.
6. Uwe ............................(live) in Dortmund, but ...............................(stay) with his parents in Bochum
until he has finished renovating his flat.
7. Jane ........................ (like) reading, and she .......................... (read) the latest Harry Potter.
8. I .................. (live) in Dortmund, but I ................................ (study) in Bochum.
Present Simple – ‘will’ Future
Exercises
1. A: ”When ................(you / arrive)?”
B: ”Seven-thirty, a.m..”
A: ”O.K., that’s fine, I ......................(pick up) from the airport.”
2. If they ............... (get) through to the next round, they ............................(will) win the championship.
3. Usually we ....................................... (leave) the presentations to Joe, but you ....................... (have
to) do them tomorrow as he .........................(be) ill.
4. Who ......................................(you / think / will) win the election in summer?
Present Simple – Present Perfect
Exercises
1. ......................................(you / hear) anything from our suppliers? The delivery ....................(be)
already two days overdue.
2. Clive and Joe ............................ (just / prepare) the data for the weekly lab meeting: we can start
when they ............................(finish).
3. I ................................(plan) to work for Siemens when I .................................(finish) my studies.
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
10
4. She................................(never/ be) to Germany before, but she .....................(speak) pretty good
German.
5. The company’s latest project ...............................(get off) to a go start; we ......................(be) well
ahead of schedule.
6. These days, nobody ..................................(learn) how to become an amateur radio operator, the
Internet ......................................(stop) all that.
7. You .................................(you / not / look) confident! ..............................(you / ride)a motorbike
before?
Simple Past – Present Continuous
Exercises
1. Last year .......................................(he/ work) in the USA for three months, but this year
..............................(go) to Saudi Arabia on a three month contract.
2. Last year we ................................(go) to Burma on holiday, but this year we
.....................................(go) to Tuscany
3. Sales of our new webcam mobile .............................................................(increase) last month, and
the prospects for the next quarter ................................................(look) up.
Simple Past - Present Simple
Exercises
1. He .........(lived) in Dortmund for 10 years, but now ...................................(work) in Darmstadt.
2. I am sorry but Sarah Brightleigh ............................. (not / work) for here anymore, she
.......................(leave) two years ago.
3. I.....................(go) to a Gymnasium, that ......(be) roughly the equivalent of an English Grammar
School.
4. Normally, .....................(he/ give) a good presentation, but yesterday he ............................(struggle)
to get his message across.
5. We ............................. (not / meet) our production targets last month. We ........................... (have to)
improve efficiency and ................................(review) our raw materials management.
6. We ................................... (finish) the basic job last week, but there ......................... (be) some loose
ends to tidy up.
Present Perfect - Simple Past
Exercises
1. ................................ (you / ever/ be) to Myanmar (Burma)? I ................................. (visit) the country
last year as part of an E. U. business development delegation.
2. She .......................... (just / finish) working for McKinsey, an international firm of consultants, and
before .............................(she/ work) for British Telecom.
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
11
Future ‘will’ – Simple Present
Exercises
1. A: .................................(not/ worry) about a taxi, .................................(I/ pick/ you/ up) at the airport.
B: Thanks for the offer, but .............................(I/ think) use my own car.
2. These figures strongly suggest it ............................(be) a long, hard winter, unless demand
..........................(pick up).
Present Simple – Present Continuous – Simple Past
Exercises
1. I ........................................(like) books. Currently, I ..............................(I/read) a biography of
Marconi, who ............................. (invent) the radio.
Things that are changing, temporary etc
In today’s modern manufacturing methods, aluminium and magnesium alloys ......................... (replace)
steel in vehicle chassis and bodywork construction.
Copyright Dr. Malcolm L. Usher © Mevado
All Rights Reserved.
12