EXERCISES
I. Put in the correct verb form of the past tense.
1. When I arrived, Ann ……………….…. (wait) for me. She was rather annoyed with me
because I and she ……………………… (wait) for a very long time.
2. We ……………………… (walk) along the road for about 20 minutes when a car stopped
and the driver gave us a lift.
3. When I saw Ben last week, he said he …………………………… (stop) smoking, but
when I saw him 2 days later, he ………………………. (smoke) a cigarette.
4. Lucy went to the living room. It was empty but the television still warm. Someone
…………… (watch) it.
5. I ……………… (play) tennis so I had a shower. I was annoyed because I
…………………… (not win) a single game.
6. They ……………………… … (talk) in the park when storm broke.
7. The man ………………………… (pay) for his new car in cash.
8. I …………………………………. (already/eat) breakfast by the time the others woke up.
9. It ……………………… (snow) for three days when suddenly the sun came out.
10. Sam …………………………… (work) here for six years before he left to go to
university.
11. Liz…………………………… (go) to the Bahamas for her holidays last year.
12. We ………………………… (watch) a film on TV when our guests arrived.
13. They …………………… (already/see) the film twice at the cinema when she rented it on
video.
14. The teacher ……………………. (teach) the children a song yesterday.
15. He ……………………………. (sit) on the train at this time yesterday morning.
II. There is mistake in the four underlined parts of each sentences. Find the mistake.
1. The apartment was hot when I got home, so I was turning on the air conditioner.
2. We are waiting for Mike for the last two hours, but he still hasn’t arrived.
3. Tom wants to get married, but he doesn’t meet the right person yet.
4. By the end of the 20
th
century, scientists have discovered the cure for common cold.

60 ago.
A. was B. has been C. is D. will be
9. Here’s an interesting statistic. On a typical day, the average person ……. about 48,000
words. How many words did you speak today?
A. spoke B. was speaking C. speaks D. is speaking
10. It’s against the law to kill the black rhinoceros. They ……… extinct.
A. became B. have become C. become D. are becoming
The End
2