ENGLISH III - INTERMEDIATE BUSINESS ENGLISH: PART A’

Revision/Grammar - Selected Exercises

A. Tenses
Tenses: Present Simple vs. Present Continuous
1. Put the verb into the correct tense form:
1. Julia is very good at languages. She speaks(speak) 4 languages fluently.
2. Hurry up! Everybody is waiting (wait) for you.
3. a. Are you listening (you/listen) to the radio?
b. No, you can turn it off.
4. a. have you been listening (you/listen) to the radio everyday?
b. No, just occasionally.
5. The river Nile flows (flow) into the Mediterranean.
6. a. How’s your English?
b. Not bad. It is improving (improve) slowly.
7. a. Can you drive?
b. I am still learning (learn). My father teaches (teach) me.
8. My parents .......................................... (live) in Bristol. Where ................ (your parents / live)?
9. Sonia ............................................ (look) for a place to live. She .................... (stay)
With her sister until she finds a flat
10. Usually I ...................................... (enjoy) parties, but I ................ (not/enjoy) this one very much.
11. I must go now. It ............................................ (get) late.
12. Can you hear those people? What ............................................ (they/talk) about?

1
2. Put the verb into the correct tense form:
1. Are you hungry? ............................................ (you/want) something to eat?
2. Jill is interested in politics but she .................................. (not/belong) to a political party.
3. Don’t put the dictionary away. I ............................................ (use) it.
4. Don’t put the dictionary away. My mom ............................................ (need) it
5. Who’s that man? What ............................................ (he/want)?
6. Who’s that man? Why ............................................ (he/look) at us?
7. George says he is 45 years old but nobody ............................................ (believe) him.
8. She told me her name but I ............................................ (not/remember) it now.
9. I ............................................ (think) of selling my car. ............................. (you/want) to buy it ?
10. I think you should sell your car. You ............................................ (not/use) it very often.
11. I used to drink a lot of coffee but these days I ............................................ (prefer) tea.
12. Air ............................................ (consist) mainly of nitrogen and oxygen.
13. The students ……….. (do) the exam for 2 hours straight. They …………… (to be) dizzy now
14. She …………………….. (deny) doing the mistakes. We …………………… (to be) angry then
15. We usually ……………… (eat) breakfast, but today ………………. (to be) different than usual
16. We ………………… (not, understand) the subject, we ………………… (ask) John for help
17. ……………………. (you, need) help? It ………………. (look) like you need some help
18. What ………. (you, wait) for again? This ………….. (to be) the right time for you to show up
19. ……………………… (not, you, see) it coming to you? You must be joking
20. She ………….. (prefer) apples than avocadoes. Whereas, I ……… (love) avocadoes.

Tenses: Present Perfect vs. Simple Past

3. Put the verb into the correct tense form:
1. a. Where’s your key?
b. I don’t know. I ...... (lose) it.
2. I did German at school but I ...... (forget) most of it.
3. I meant to phone Diane last night but I ...... (forget) it.
4. I …… (have) a headache earlier but I feel fine now.
5. Look, there’s an ambulance over there. There ...... (be) an accident.
6. The police ...... (arrest) three people but later they let them go.
7. Where’s my bike? I ...... (leave) it outside the house but now it ...... (disappear)!
8. Oh, I ...... (cut) my finger! It’s bleeding.
9. My parents ...... (get) married in London last spring.
10. Mary is not at home. She ...... (go) shopping.
11. Your hair looks nice. ...... (you/have) a haircut?
12. a. When is your birthday?
b. I ...... (be) born on June the 30th, 1970.
13. One of my friends ….. (fail) in the test last year. She …… (be) so upset.
14. The president … (declare) last night that our country was in the steady situation

2
 Tenses: Future Tenses
4. Put the verb into the correct tense form:
1. Don’t call me between 7 and 8. I ... (have) dinner. Call me after 8 o’clock. We ... (finish) doing our dinner.
2. a. Can we meet tomorrow noon time?
b. No, I ... (work) in that time.
3. He ... (spend) a lot of his money during holiday in Bali.
4. Do you think you ... (still/do) the same job in ten years’ time?
5. If you need to contact me, I ... (stay) at Knightsbridge Hotel till Friday.
6. I ... (call) you when I get back from work.
7. We … (read) the book by the end of the month
8. Tomorrow morning at 8:00 A.M. My father … (fix) our roof. So, he … (finish) fixing our roof at 10.00
9. Brian looks very different now. When you see him again, you ... (not/recognize) him.
10. I don’t want to go out with you. I ... (stay) at home until you are back.
11. I am going for lunch. If anybody phones me while I am out, … (you, take) a message?
12. We … (learn) together after school. Would you like to join us?
13. I am truly offended. I ... (not/speak) to her until she apologises.
14. James is travelling around Europe. By the end of his trip, he ... (cover) a distance of 3,000 miles.
15. They … (not, to be) here again tomorrow morning. They … (move) to another town
16. By the end of this month I ... (finish) doing my job with the help of my brother
17. Tonight, I and my family ... (go) to Ancol. Then we … (lie) on that gorgeous beach
18. After school, I … (go) back to my house. I … (sleep) and then at night I … (study)
19. That lovely girl … (buy) a new iphone next month. Do you want to buy the previous phone?
20. One of my friends in this classroom … (get) the highest score. I bet it … (to be) Jessica!
21. john … (open) a new store in Harapan Indah next month, please support him!
22. You know, my heart, body and soul … (always, be) for you. No question about it!
23. Today I … (go) to school. I … (study) for 8 hours. Such a long journey!
24. On December our school … (hold) the final examination for all students
25. You are great, that’s a huge dream. I hope it … (come) true!
26. … (visit, you) uncle Smith in Harapan Hospital by the end of the week?
27. … (not, graduate, you) from this school by the end of this year?
28. She … (watch) television when you come tonight
29. … (have, you) dinner at 6 o’clock tomorrow evening?
30. Your children … (play) paintball in my back yard for more than two hours by the time you pick them up
31. He … (run) the business for two years by the end of next April
32. Your friend … (be) angry since he … (wait) so long
33. Emily … (swim) at the swimming pool at 3.20 tomorrow afternoon
34. I … (come, not) to your party tomorrow, I may be busy
35. How long … (study, she) in France when her parents visit her?

Tenses: Simple, Continuous and Perfective Aspect

5. Put the verb into the correct tense form:
1. a. What ... (you/do) this time yesterday?
b. I was asleep.
2. a. ... (you/go) out last night?
b. No, I was too tired.
3. a. Was Carol at the party last night?
b. Yes, she ... (wear) a really nice dress.
4. How fast ... (you/drive) when the accident ... (happen)?
5. John ... (take) a picture of me when I ... (look) away.
6. I … (walk) along the street when suddenly I ... (hear) footsteps behind me. Somebody ... (follow) me. I was
frightened and I ... (start) to run.
7. When I was young, I ... (want) to be a bus driver.
8. You look tired. ... (you/work) hard?
9. I ... (lose) my address book. ... (you/see) it anywhere?
10. I ... (read) the book you lent me but I ... (not/finish) it yet.
3
 11. a. Sorry I’m late.
b. That’s alright. I ... (not/wait) long.
12. a. … (you/see) me at the party last night?
13. In 2016 to 2017, I … (study) in Junior High School, in 2017, I … (finish) studying
14. In December 2016, I … (study) in Junior High School and still until June 2017
15. People ... (wonder) why I … (can) lift that heavy motorcycle
16. My life … (full of) love, but now I am so hollow
17. We … (go) to a club last night. We … (dancing) all night long
18. In the morning, we … (go) back home, and … (have) a great time together
19. In the morning as well, we … (do) dancing in the club
20. However, my friend … (tell) me last night whether I … (to be) happy or not

6. Put the verb into the correct tense form:

1. a. Was Tom at the party when you arrived?
b. No, he ............................................ (go) home.
2. I felt very tired when I got home, so I ............................................ (go) straight to bed.
3. The house was very quiet when I got home. Everyone ............................................ (go) to bed.
4. Sorry I’m late. The car ............................................ (break) down on my way here.
5. We were driving along the road when we ............................................ (see) a car which ............................................
(break) down, so we ............................................ (stop) to see if we could help.
6. It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours ............................................ (have) a party.
7. John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because he ............................................ (walk) so
fast.
8. When I arrived for dinner, their mouths were empty but their stomachs were full. They ............................................
(already/eat).
9. I was sad when I sold my car. I ............................................ (have) it for years.
10. We were extremely tired at the end of the trip. We ............................................ (travel) for 24 hours.
11. Mary was out of breath, sitting on the ground. She ............................................ (run).
12. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He ............................................ (look) for his contact lens.

Tenses: Recap Drills

7. Put the verb into the correct tense form:
1. We can go out now. It ............................................ (not/rain) any more.
2. Ann ............................................ (wait) for me when I ............................................ (arrive).
3. I ............................................ (get) hungry. Let’s go and have something to eat.
4. What ............................................ (you/do) in your spare time? Have you got any hobbies?
5. Mary usually ............................................ (phone) me on Fridays but she ............................................ (not phone)
me last Friday.
6. I’m looking for Paul. ............................................ (you/see) him?
7. a. When I last saw you, you ............................................ (think) of moving to a new flat.
b. That’s right, but in the end I ............................................ (decide) to stay where I was.
8. What is that noise? What ............................................ (happen)?
9. It’s usually dry here at this time of the year. It ............................................ (not/rain) much.
10. Yesterday evening, the phone ............................................ (ring) three times while we ............................................
(have) dinner.
11. Linda was busy when we ............................................ (go) to see her yesterday. She
was ............................................ (study) for an exam. We ............................................ (not/want) to disturb her, so
we ............................................ (not stay) very long.
12. When I first ............................................ (tell) Tom the news, he ............................................ (not/believe) me. He
thought that I ............................................ (joke).

8. Put the verb into the correct tense form:

1. Everything is going well. We ............................................ (not/have) any problems so far.
2. Margaret ............................................ (not/go) to work yesterday. She wasn’t feeling well.
3. Look! That man over there ............................................ (wear) the same sweater as you.
4. Your son is much taller than when I last saw him. He ............................................ (grow) a lot.
5. I still don’t know what to do. I ............................................ (not/decide) yet.
6. I wonder why Jim ............................................ (be) nice to me today. He isn’t usually like that.
7. Jane had a book open in front of her but she ............................................ (not/read) it.
4
 8. When Sue heard the news, she ............................................ (not/be) very pleased.
9. This is a nice restaurant, isn’t it? Is this the first time you ............................................ (be) here?
10. I need a new job. I ............................................ (do) the same job for too long.
11. a. You look tired.
b. Yes, I ............................................ (play) basketball.
12. Where ............................................ (you/come) from? Are you British?

9. Put the verb into the correct tense form:

1. a. Where ............................................ (you/go)?
b. To the post office. I’ll be back in a few minutes.
2. a. Your house is very nice. How long ............................................ (you/live) here?
b. Nearly ten years.
3. a. ............................................ (you/see) Julie recently?
b. Yes, I met her a few days ago.
4. a. Can you describe the woman you saw? What ............................................ (she/wear)?
b. A red top and jeans.
5. a. How long ............................................ (it/take) you to get to work in the morning?
b. About 45 minutes.
6. a. ............................................ (you/finish) with the newspaper yet?
b. No, I’m still reading it.
7. a. How well do you know Bill?
b. Very well. We ............................................ (know) each other since we were kids.
8. a. Did you enjoy your holiday?
b. Yes, it’s the best holiday I ............................................ (ever/have).
9. a. Is Jack still here?
b. No, he ............................................ (leave) about ten minutes ago.
10. a. How did you cut your knee?
b. I slipped and fell when I ............................................ (play) tennis.
11. a. How often do you go to the movies?
b. Very rarely. It’s nearly a year I ............................................ (not/be) to the cinema.
12. a. Do you like my new shoes?
b. Yes, they’re very nice. Where ............................................ (you/buy) them?

10. Put the verb into the correct tense form:

1. Who ............................................ (invent) the bicycle?
2. a. Do you still have a headache?
b. No, it ............................................ (go). I’m alright now.
3. What ............................................ (you/do) last weekend? ............................................ (you/go) away?
4. We decided not to go because it ............................................ (rain) quite hard.
5. Jill is an experienced teacher. She ............................................ (teach) for 15 years.
6. I bought a new jacket last week but I ............................................ (wear) it yet.
7. A few days ago, I ............................................ (see) a man at a party whose face ............................................ (look)
familiar. At first I couldn’t think where I ............................................ (see) him before. Then suddenly I remembered who
he ............................................ (be).
8. ............................................ (you/hear) of Agatha Christie? She was a writer who ......................................... (die) in
1976. She ............................................ (write) more than 70 novels. ............................................ (read) any of them?
9. a. What ............................................ (this word / mean)?
b. I’ve no idea. I ............................................ (never/see) it before.
10. I went to John’s office and ............................................ (knock) on the door but there ............................................
(be) no answer. Either he ............................................ (go) out or he ............................................ (not/want) to see anyone.
11. Angela asked me how to use the photocopier. She ............................................ (never/use) it before, so
she ............................................ (not/know) what to do.
12. Mary ............................................ (go) for a swim after work yesterday. She ............................................ (need)
some exercise because she ............................................ (sit) all day in front of her computer.