Tenses : Simple present, will, be going to, the present continuous tense

73. My friend, Kassie, ___________ to the gym every morning.

A. go B. is going C. goes D. has gone
74. Look! It ___________ outside. Don’t forget to carry an umbrella.
A. rains B. is raining C. will rain D. rained
75. I ___________ for the exam right at the moment.
A study B. am studying C. will study D. studied
76. X : I don’t want to cook tonight, for I feel tired.
Y : Ok, I _______.
A. will cook B. am cooking C. am going to cook D. cook
77. I believe that Jumana ______ a reward at the end of the semester. All her results are above 95.
A. will get B. is going to get C. is getting D. gets
78. I _____ my friend at the post office tomorrow at 8.
A. will meet B. am going to meet C. am meeting D. meet
79. It is my plan that I ______ Zengena one day in the future.
A. will visit B. am going to visit C. am visiting D. visit
80. X : (At a hotel) Oh! I don’t have any money; I can’t pay.
Y : Really? It is ok, I ____ it.
A. am paying B. am going to pay C. will pay D. am to pay it
81. X : Do you think you will finish your work before 6?
Y : I believe that I _____ it by then.
A. finish B. will finish C. am finishing D. am going to finish
82. X : I feel cold.
Y : So do I. Look at those heavy black clouds. It ______ .
A. will rain B. is raining C. is going to rain D. was raining
83. The Nile River _________ northward through northeastern Africa and empties into the
Mediterranean Sea.
A. is flowing B. flow C. will flow D. flows
84. Have I told you that my younger sister _______ to gym twice a week.
A. go B. goes C. is going D. will go
85. My friend, together with his three children, ______ to Lake Tana every Sunday afternoon .

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 A. go B. goes C. went D. are going
86. I think they ______ the issue at the next meeting.
A. are going to discuss B. are discussing C. will be discussing D. discuss
87. Are you telling me he is ill? Sorry about that. I _______ him right after class.
A. am visiting B. am going to visit C. visit D. will visit
88. Do you know that your national exam _____ on June.
A. will be given B. is given C. is being given D. is going to be given

Answers
73. C 74. B 75. B 76. A 77. B 78. C 79. B 80. C
81. B 82. C 83. D 84. B 85. B 86. C 87. D 88. B

Brief notes on simple present, will, be going to, and the present continuous tense
1. Simple present tense
Simple present tense is used to express
a) habitual action
e.g. She goes to Lake Tana every Sunday.
b) general truth
e.g. Children cry when they are hungry.
c) future plan or schedule, usually arranged by an external body.
e.g. Your exam begins on June.
2. Present continuous tense
Present continuous tense is used to express
a) An action taking place at the time of speaking.
e.g. We are learning English now.
b) A future plan arranged by the speaker himself.
e.g. I am meeting my friend at the post office tomorrow at 8.
c) An action that is unfinished at the time of speaking.
e.g. We are attending tutorial class for all subjects.
3. ‘will’ and ‘going to’ for future intentions and decisions

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 ‘will’ is used to express future intentions that are decided at the time of speaking.
e.g. X : I feel very hungry.
Y : Really? I will prepare you juice.
‘be going to’ is used to express future intentions that have already been decided before the time of
speaking.
e.g. X : Will you join us on our Saturday’s party
Y : Oh no, I can’t come on Saturday. I am going to help my parents in the farm.
4. ‘will’ and ‘be going to’ for future predictions
‘will’ is used to make predictions that are based on personal hope, judgment, opinion, belief, etc.
when there's no clear evidence right now
e.g. X : Do you believe that he will get the job?
Y : I hope he will win the job competition.
‘be going to’ is used to make predictions that are based on present evidence.
e.g. X : Do you believe that he will get the job?
Y : Certainly! He is going to win the competition because he has presented strong
credentials.
5. ‘be going to’ and present cont. tense for future plans
‘be going to’ refers to future intentions that have been decided but have not been fully planned.
e.g. I am going to meet Almaz sometimes soon.
Present cont. tense refers to fixed future events and emphasizes that plans have already been
made.
e.g. I am taking an exam at the auditorium exactly at 8.

89. I ______ your bananas, but there are some left for you.
A. ate B. have eaten C. have been eating D. was eating
90. I ___________ your bananas until this minute, but there are some left for you.
A. ate B. have eaten C. have been eating D. was eating
91. While I _____ to the store, I ______ an old friend.
A. walked / met B. was walking / met
C. was walking / was meeting D. walked / was meeting

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92. I ______ the lesson yesterday because I ______ sick.
A. didn’t understand / felt B. haven’t understood / felt
C. didn’t understand / was feeling D. haven’t understood / was feeling
93. While they ______ for the bus, they ______ about their plans for the weekend.
A. were waiting / were chatting B. waited / chatted
C. were waiting / chatted D. waited / were chatting
94. She ______ that she had left her passport at home when she ______ for her flight.
A. realized / waited B. realized / was waiting
C. was realizing / was waiting D. was realizing / waited
95. As I ______ on the report, my computer ______ and I ____ all my data.
A. worked / crashed / lost B. was working / crashed / lost
C. was working / was crashing / loosing D. work / crashed / lost
96. He ______ to find his keys in the drawer, but when he ______ it, he ______ them immediately.
A. didn’t expect / opened / saw
B. wasn’t expecting / opened / saw
C. didn’t expect / was opening / saw
D. wasn’t expecting / was opening / was seeing
97. She usually _____ to the gym in the evenings, but yesterday she _____ at home because she
_____ unwell.
A. goes / stayed / feels B. went / stayed / felt
C. goes / stayed / felt D. went / stayed / feels
98. Right at the moment, she _____ an important report, but she _____ it by the end of the day.
A. writes / finishes B. wrote / finished
C. is writing / finishes D. is writing / will have finished
99. X : Can we meet at the usual coffee house tom. at six o’clock? Y : No, I can’t. I have an
appointment. I ________ my friend at six.
A. meet B. was meeting
C. am going to meet D. am meeting
100. She graduated from university three years ago. She _____ for three different companies so far.
A. worked B. has worked C. is working D. works

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101. By the time you arrive, I _______ my presentation, and then we can go to Lake Tana
enjoy ourselves.
A. will finish B. will have finished
C. have finished D. finish
102. Neither staff members nor the director _____ on the premise when the gangs robbed
everything. I guess it wouldn’t be easy to arrest them.
A. were B. are C. was D. is
103. She _______ at the company for 10 years when she decides to leave.
A) has worked B) will have worked
C) works D) is working
104. She ______ a lot of novels recently, but she ______ much last year.
A) has read / read B) has read / didn’t read
C) was reading / wasn’t reading D) had read / hadn’t read
105. By the time we ______ at the airport, the plane ______.
A) arrived / took off B) arrived / had taken off
C) had arrived / took off D) were arriving / had taken off
106. I _______ to Paris, so I am not here right now.
A. have been B. have gone C. went D. had gone
107. We ______ each other since high school, but last year we finally ______.
A) didn’t see / met B) haven’t seen / met
C) hadn’t seen / met D) haven’t seen / have met
108. I ______ to Paris twice, but I ______ there last year.
A) have been / didn’t go B) was / hadn’t gone
C) have gone / didn’t go D) went / haven’t gone
109. She ______ the report for hours before she finally ______ it.
A) wrote / finished B) wrote / finish
C) had been writing / finished D) has been writing / finished
110 . When I called her, she ____ for the train and ____ my call.
A) waited / missed B) was waiting / missed
C) had waited / was missing D) was waiting / had missed

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111. He ______ to London five times, but he ______ there last year.
A) has gone / didn’t go B) went / didn’t go
C) has been / didn’t go D) had gone / hadn’t gone
112. She ______ the book for hours before she finally ______ it to her friend.
A) read / lent B) had read / lent
C) read / had lent D) had been reading / lent
113. I ___ a lot of progress since I ___ this project last month.
A) made / started B) had made / started
C) make / started D) have made / started
114. When we were in Gambella, everyday after work, we _______ sit by the river watching fishers
catching fish and making a lot of money out of it.
A. have used to B. used to
C. are used to D. were used to
115. After living in the countryside for many years, they found it difficult to adjust to the city
because they _______ the constant noise and traffic.
A. are used to B. weren't used to
C. didn't use to D. aren’t used to

89. B 90. C 91. B 92. A 93. A 94. B 95. B 96. A

97. C 98. D 99. D 100. B 101. B 102. C 103. B 104. B
105. B 106. B 107. B 108. A 109. C 110. B 111. C 112. D
113. D 114. B 115. B

Brief notes on present perfect, present perfect con., simple past, past
cont., past perfect, and future perfect tenses

The simple past tense

1. To describe a completed action in the past

Examples:

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  I visited Japan last year.
 She wrote a novel when she was 25.

2. To describe a series of completed actions in the past

Examples:

 He woke up, brushed his teeth, and left the house.



Common time expressions used in the simple past tense: yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days
ago, when I was a child, etc.

 We saw that movie last night.

The present perfect and present perfect continuous tense

Present perfect tense (have / has + past participle)
I have written an e-mail.
Present perfect continuous tense (have / has + been + present participle)
I have been writing an e-mail.
The present perfect tense is used to
1. emphasize the result of an action.
e.g. I have done my homework. (= Now I am free.)
2. show a longer, lasting, permanent action.
e.g. The building has stood in the center of the town for hundred years.
(= shows a permanent action)
3. suggest the completion of an action.
e.g. I have eaten your bananas. Sorry! There aren’t any left .
4. says 'how many / how much'
e.g. She has read ten books this summer.
The present perfect tense is used with stative as well as action verbs. Stative verbs are those which
are related to thoughts and opinions, feelings and emotions, senses and perceptions (e.g. agree,

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believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, appear, be, feel, hear, look,
see, etc.).
The present perfect continuous tense is used to
1. emphasize an action.
e.g. I have been doing my homework for hours. I feel sleepy.
2. show a temporary (not permanent) action.
e.g. The boy has been standing near the office for an hour.
3. suggest unfinished action.
e.g. I have been eating your bananas, but there are some left for you.
4. says 'how long' : She has been reading that book all day.
5. describe ongoing repeated actions.
e.g. I have been playing tennis every Sunday for years.
The present perfect continuous tense is used with non-stative (dynamic or action) verbs.

The past continuous tense (was/were + present participle (verb + -ing)

It is used
1. To describe an action in progress at a specific time in the past
Examples: At 8 p.m., I was watching a documentary.
2. To describe two or more actions happening at the same time in the past
Examples:
While she was reading, her brother was playing the guitar.
3. To describe an interrupted action in the past
An action in progress (past continuous) is interrupted by a shorter action (simple past).
Examples:
They were walking to school when it started to rain.

The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another action
in the past.
e.g. I had finished my work by the time he called.
Common time expressions with past perfect : before, by the time, after, when, already, etc.

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The future perfect tense (will + present perfect) is used to describe an action that will be
completed before a specific time or another event in the future.
e.g. By the time you arrive, I will have finished my homework. (This means the homework will
be finished before you arrive.)
She will have left by the time the meeting starts. (She will already be gone when the
meeting begins.)

‘used to’ and ‘be used to’

‘used to’ refers to past habits or actions that no longer occur.
Example:
I used to live in the countryside. (This means that living in the countryside was a regular
action in the past, but the person no longer lives there.)
‘be used to’ refers to being accustomed or familiar with something, either in the present or past.
Example:
I am used to waking up early. (This means that waking up early is a habit now)
They weren't used to the cold weather when they first moved here. (This means that, in the
past, they were not accustomed to the cold weather.)