Grammar Practice Exercises [ 9 ] Upper Intermediate

9 -] Grammar Practice Exercises

Upper Intermediate

Past Perfect Simple

1- ]Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or past perfect simple

Example

1 - ] A : I’m sorry we’re late . We missed (miss) the train .

B : How ----------------------( that / happened)?

A : Well , I ------------------(get) the times wrong and when we -----------------(arrive) at the station , the train ---------------(just leave) .

2 - ] A : -----------------------(you/have) a good meal at Hilary’s ?

B : Well no , it ------------------(be) very embarrassing . When we ------------------(arrive) , we

----------------(know) immediately that she -----------------(forget) about the whole thing .

A : So what ---------------------(she / do) ?

B : Well , she -----------------------(pretend) that she -----------------(not forget) and --------------

(say) that the meal -----------------------(not be) ready because she ----------------(get) home from work very late .

A : Oh no , how awful !

3 . It ---------------------(be) a beautiful morning . It -------------------(rain) in the night and so the ground --------------------(be) fresh and clean and it -----------------(smell) wonderful . None of the Taylor family -----------------------(be) awake though . They ----------------(all go)

to bed very late the night before . Their Australian cousin --------------(arrive) unexpectedly that evening and they ---------------(sit up) talking most of the night . Although it -------------

(be) now 8 o’clock in the morning , they ----------------(only be) in bed for about two hours .

Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or past perfect simple

Example

James sat (sit) outside the office waiting for the interview . He -----------------(feel) so nervous that he --------------------( not know) what to do with himself . The person who -------

(go in) before him ------------------(be) in there for nearly an hour . And she ---------------(look) so confident when she -------------------(go) in . Not like James . He -----------------(feel) sure that she ---------------------(already get) the job . The problem -------------------(be) that he ----------------(want) this job so much . It ---------------------(mean) everything to him . He

------------------------------(think) about it such a lot before the day of the interview and being offered the job immediately . But now here he ----------------------------(be) feeling terrible . He ------------------------(cannot remember) all those things he -------------------(plan) to say . At that moment , he -------------------(almost decide) to get up and leave . But no - he ----------

(have to do) this . He ----------------(spend) so much time thinking about it that he -------------

(cannot give up) like that . His hands --------------------(be) hot and sticky and his mouth

-----------------(feel) dry . Finally the door of the office --------------------(open) . The woman who --------------------(go in) an hour earlier -----------------------(come out) looking very pleased with herself . She --------------------------(smile) sympathetically at James . At that moment James ------------------------(hate) her . The managing director then ------------

(appear) at the office door ‘Would you like to come in now , Mr. Davis ? I’m sorry to have kept you waiting .’ James -----------------(suddenly wish) that he ----------------(go) home after all . He ------------------(get up) ,legs shaking and forehead sweating and --------------(wonder) whether he -----------------(look) as terrified as he ------------------(feel) .

Past Perfect Continuous

Rewrite the following passage to change it into the past , making all the necessary tense changes .

It’s 10 o’clock at night . The offices of the ‘The Daily News’ are buzzing with excitement . The deadline for the paper is in half an hour and they are frantically trying to finish the front page . Everyone has been working all evening without a break . Some of the journalists have been at the office since early morning . They have all been trying to get an exclusive story , to find out something that no other journalist has discovered . The main story is a big one . The Prime Minister has resigned . Everyone knows that his government has had lots of problems in the last year but his resignation is nonetheless a big surprise .

Rumors have been going round all day about the real reasons for the announcement . Some say that he has been involved in some financial scandal . Others say that he has been seeing another woman . All the papers have been working all day to get the best story . And they’ve been doing their best to find out what the other papers have said . The whole day has been very tense . Suddenly the editor asks everyone to be quiet . There is a telephone call from the Prime Minister’s office .

Example

It was 10 o’clock at night . The offices of ‘The Daily News’ were buzzing with excitement .