VERB TENSES IN USE:

NOW

PAST FUTURE

Write the numbers of the following sentences according to the verb tense used, in the
appropriate box in the figure above, in relation to TIME.

1. In 1965 the first geostationary satellite was launched.

2. There will be a greater need for energy in the future.
3. Before the 1960s satellite transmission of TV had not been achieved.
4. We have made a lot of progress in improving the environment.
5. Coal-fired power plants still produce contaminants.
6. During the 1960s Americans were working hard to put a man on the moon.
7. We are developing new techniques for reducing air pollution.

Identify the verbs in the sentences above and write them into the appropriate bosex in the
table below:

tense: active: passive:

PRESENT SIMPLE

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

FUTURE SIMPLE

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

PAST SIMPLE

PAST PROGRESSIVE

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

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tense / SIMPLE PROGRESSIVE PERFECT PERFECT
(CONTINUOUS) PROGRESSIVE
time DO HAVE + pp (-ed)
(CONTINUOUS)
BE + -ING

PAST I studied yesterday I was studying (when I had studied maths I had been studying….
sth. happened) (before I started
Did I study….? Had I been studying….
studying statistics)
Was I studying …..?
I did not study I had not been
Had I studied…..?
studying….

PRESENT I study every day I am studying now I have studied maths I have been studying….
Do I study ….? Am I studying now? Have I studied….. Have I been studying ….
I do not study I am not studying now. I have not studied….. I have not been
studying…

FUTURE I will study tomorrow I will be studying (when I will have studied I will have been
you come) maths by the time I do studying…
Will I study tomorrow?
sth. else
Will I be studying…..? Will I have been
I will not study tomorrow
Will I have studied studying…?
maths….
I will not have been
studying

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 to STUDY

1) I _________________ last night.

2) I _________________ when they came.
3) I ______________________ for two hours before my friends came.

4) I _________________ tomorrow.

5) I ____________ already ____________ Chapter One.

6) I _________________ every day.
7) I _________________________ for two hours.
8) I _________ already _________ Chapter One before I began to study Chapter Two.

9) I _________________ right now.

10) I ________________________ for two hours by the time you arrive.

11) I _________________ when you come.

12) I ______________ already _____________ Chapter Four before I study Chapter Five.

@ Match at least one of these time clauses with each of the sentences in a to j.

1. when I joined this company a) I didn’t have a lot of experience

2. in the 1990s b) My boss uses a laptop

3. the other day c) I was looking for a different job

4. during a meeting d) I worked for my present company’s major competitor

5. recently e) I have been working on this project

6. since January f) I last made a conference call in English

7. hardly ever g) I’m flying to Munich

8. by Tuesday h) I’ll finish this report

9. never i) I was caught making personal phonecalls

10. for a year j) I’ve had a lot in my in-tray

11. in a fortnight’s time

12. this week

a b c d e f g h i j

@ Why are different tenses used in the contrasting sentences?

1a) I work for a well-known multinational

1b) I’m working on restructuring the company

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2a) What were you doing when the headhunter called?

2b) What did you do when the headhunter called?

3a) When we arrived, they introduced the main conference speakers

3b) When we arrived, they were introducing the main conference speakers

3c) When we arrived, they had introduced the main conference speakers

4a) I’ve worked with several very prestigious clients

4b) I worked with several very prestigious clients

5a) I’ve been replying to customer enquiries all day

5b) I’ve nearly cleared the backlog of enquiries from the Xmas break

Comparison: the past - the present - the future

A hundred years ago, the automobile had not been invented. Today it is one of the most common

means of transportation and has greatly changed the way people lead their lives. By the year
________, the automobile will have become obsolete. A hundred years from now, people will use
small, jet-propelled, wingless flying machines in place of cars.

1. Means of transportation
2. Sources of energy A hundred years ago…..
3. Population growth
4. Food sources Today …….
5. Extinction of animal species
6. Space exploration, contact with beings from outer space
By the year _____ …….
7. Role of computers in daily life
8. International language
9. International communication A hundred years from now……
10. Communication satellites

@Now choose one of the topics above and write a similar essay:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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@ In the following texts supply the correct verbs forms:

DASH 7 TRAGEDY

Former Red Arrows leader Raymond "Bill" Loverseed and his Canadian co-pilot Adam "Mick"

Saunders /1/_____________ on 28 November when a de Havilland Canada Dash 7 they were

test-flying /2/____________ near Ashburton, Devon. The Dash 7 /3/________________

from Guernsey, where it /4/_________________ maintenance for about a year. It

/5/_________________ by Loverseed and Saunders, who /6/__________________ for

Ontario-based Worldwide Aircraft Ferrying, prior to leasing to an airline. No other crew

/7/___________ aboard. Eye-witnesses /8/______________ the aircraft "spiralling out of

control" before exploding in a fireball as it /9/_________________ a hillside near the A38

Exeter-Plymouth trunk road. Most of the wreckage, which /10/_________________ within a

small area, /11/___________________ by fire.

1 – KILL simple past passive; 2 – CRASH simple past; 3 – DEPART past perfect; 4 – UNDERGO past perfect
continuous; 5 – TEST past continuous passive; 6 – WORK simple past; 7 – BE simple past; 8 – REPORT simple
past; 9 – HIT simple past; 10 (CONTAIN) +11 (CONSUME) simple past passive

Insecure wings

According to the Falco Builders Letter, last summer a mentally ill man SLIPPED / HAS SLIPPED

through an unlocked security gate at Prestwick Airport, GOTTEN / GOT into a parked Sequoia

Falco homebuilt, WAS STARTED / STARTED it at full throttle and only avoided running into the

Falco owner's newly acquired Audi car because the fuel cock WAS / HAS BEEN off and the

engine STOPED / STOPPED before it could do any damage. Apprehended by the owner, he

explained that he "WAS MADE / HAD MADE a mistake", and walked away. He was eventually

rounded up by security staff who recognised him as a man they HAVE QUESTIONED / HAD

QUESTIONED earlier when he HAD ACTING / ACTED suspiciously in the terminal building. He

WAS REFUSED / HAD REFUSED to give them any details other than that he EMPLOYED /

WAS EMPLOYED by military intelligence. In fact, he was a former aviation engineer, a patient at

a local mental hospital. Commented the Falco's builder, who prefers to remain anonymous, "I

would HAD HAD / HAVE HAD some explaining to do to the insurance company, having left the

key in the aircraft, and I later WAS DISCOVERED / DISCOVERED that my car was not insured

airside." It HAPPENED / WAS HAPPENED on his birthday, too.