Seminar 7 – Sequence of Tenses

Present Tenses in Sequence of Tenses: 1

Past Tenses in Sequence of Tenses: 2
Exceptions in Sequence of Tenses: 3
Tense review: *4, *5, *6

1. Fill in with the appropriate tense:

Example: I think John ....(need) your help.

I think John needs your help.

1. The student claims he ... (speak) with the teacher quite recently.
2. The student claims he ... (speak) with the teacher yesterday.
3. We think that the meeting ... (be over) in half an hour.
4. I know you ....(be) tired.
5. We are sure you .... (pass) the exams.
6. It proves that you ... (be) right.
7. I am told that it ... (rain) a lot in Italy.
8. We believe that Ben and his family ... just … (come back) from
holiday.
9. I’m sure we ... (not see) her again this year.

2. Fill in with the appropriate tense:

Example: I thought you ... (like) to know some of my news.

I thought you would like to know some of my news.

1. He said he ... (go) to Greece for his holiday next summer.

2. They told me they ... (be) home.
3. Street traders sold souvenirs and the tourists ... (try) to bring down
the price.
4. I left the town when it ... (rain) quite heavily.
5. I was sure he .... (arrive) on time.
6. Did you hear that Helen .... (leave) for London two days ago?
7. We thought that he … (live) on Rose Street.
8. I didn't know if she … (be) in town.

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 9. I didn't know whether he … (agree) to do it.
10. I wasn't sure that he … (help) us.
11. I saw that she … (write) a report.
12. I knew that John … (already leave) for Chicago.
13. I knew where she … (go).
14. They wondered whether she … ( buy) that house.
15. I heard that Mr. Smith … (to be going to be) our new director.
16. He understood later that you … (want) to help him.
17. I asked him why he … (buy) that book.

3. Fill in with the appropriate tense:

1. Copernicus proved that the earth … (move) round the sun.

2. The teacher told us that honesty … (be) the best policy.
3. He told me that the Hindus … (burn) their dead.
4. He didn’t get the job because his English … (not be) good.
5. A fishing village once existed where now … (lie) the city of
Mumbai.
6. Yesterday I met a man who … (sell) balloons. (That is his
occupation)
7. Newton discovered that the force of gravity … (pull) all bodies to
the Earth.
8. She said that the moon … (cause) the tides.
9. He said that the next stop … (be) Northgate.
10. Mr. Arden said that a volcanic eruption … (occur) next year.
11. That person who once was a little girl in rags … (be) the new
Prime Minister of Neverland.
12. I will call you when lunch … (be) ready.
13. I shall wait until you … (return).
14. We were told that earth … (revolve) around the sun.
15. He learnt that Italian women … (wear) fine clothes.
16. He liked you better than he … (like) me.
17. He likes you better than he … (like) me.
18. Newton discovered that the force of gravity … (make) the apple
fall.
19. I believe that God … (be) everywhere.

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*4 Put the verbs in brackets in the required tense and retell the
story:

A motorcycle policeman (1) … (to be) about to write up a ticket

charging a motorist with speeding, when a woman in the back seat,
who (2) … (can) restrain herself no longer, (3) … (to begin) her
tirade.
“There! I (4)…(not to tell) you to watch out? But you (5) … (to keep)
right on speeding all morning, getting out of line, not blowing your
horn, passing stop streets and everything else. I (6) … (not to tell)
you, you
(7) … (to get) caught? I (8) … (not to tell) you?”
“Who (9) … (to be) this woman?” asked the officer, with pencil
posed.
“ My wife” said the motorist grimly.
“(10) … (to drive) on, my friend!” explained the officer, pityingly, as
he (11) … (to proceed) to tear up the ticket. “Drive on-and may fate
have mercy on you!”

*5. Fill in with the appropriate tense, observing the sequence of

tenses:

A.
Dear Suzanna,
Thank you for your letter which I (1) ... (receive) last week. It was
really good to hear from you. You said you (2) ... .(see) Angela
recently, but you didn’t say how she (3) ... (be). Please let me know,
and give her my regards.
I (4) ... (be) in Carolina for six weeks, and I’m enjoying life here very
much. I (5) ... (work) very hard since I arrived, but the job is
interesting and everyone is very kind to me. When I arrived in the
States I (6) ... (stay) a few days in New York, and there something
awful happened. My wallet (7) ... (steal). While I (8) ... (look) in a
shop window on Sixth Avenue, I felt my shoulder bag move. I looked
down at it and I realized someone had opened it and taken my wallet.
If I’d be more careful it wouldn’t have happened. I (9) ... (not see) the
person at all. But I’m trying to forget all that. I (10) ... (live) in a small

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hotel at the moment, but someone in the office has asked me to share
his flat with him. He seems a really nice chap. His name is Bill, he’s
from Carolina, and he (11) ... (live) on the sixth floor of a big block.
It’s a bit untidy at the moment because it (12) ... (decorate), but it’ll be
fine. We’ve arranged everything, and I
(13) ... (move) in next week. I’d love a holiday, because the job is
really tiring, and I don’t think it’ll get any easier. Some friends of
mine (14) ... (go) on holiday soon. If I (15) ... (not have to) work so
hard, I (16) ... (go) with them, but it is impossible at the moment.
You said you (17) ... (come) to see me this Christmas. I hope you
haven’t changed your mind. Let me know what date you (18) ...
(think) of arriving. If you (19) ... (come), I (20)...(show) you around.
There’s an awful lot to see. Write soon.
Love,
Steve

B.
Years ago, I secretly dreamt of becoming an actor. When I heard from
friends about a local drama group that (1) ... (put) on a play. I went
along for an audition. When I (2) ... (arrive) at the theatre I asked for
the show’s director and (3) ... (to be introduced) to a young man
called Gavin, who was known locally for his modern interpretations
of Shakespeare.
The audition (4) ... (seem) to go well and I was pleased with my
performance. A couple of days later, I heard from Gavin and he (5) ...
(tell) me that I (6) ... (be) just right for the part of the fairy. I didn’t
really care for the role, but I (7) ... (have) to accept it gratefully.
Gavin was anxious for us all to learn our lines as quickly as possible
so we (8) ... (can) get started with the rehearsals. I was slightly
disappointed at the news that I (9) ... (have) only one line to learn. I
was, however, most impressed with my costume, which (10) ... (to be
made) from some old silk curtains, as wearing it really helped me to
get into the character.
Unfortunately, every time I tried to say my line, Gavin. (11) ... (get)
annoyed with me and (12) ... (shout) at me to speak with more
emotion. Some of the cast gave me some tips, and I (13) ... (be) glad
of the help, but I never got much better.

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Two days before the opening night, I was so afraid of going on that I
(14) ... (decide) to quit. I felt sorry about Gavin, but what else (15) ...
(can) I do? I felt quite bad about it at the time, but later I could laugh
about it.

C.
My obsession with DIY started a few years ago when I (1) ... (need)
to get a wall painted before I had new carpets fitted. Unable to find a
decorator,
I (2) ... (decide) to do it myself. Within a few weeks, I’d got the bug.
When I (3) ... (work on) the house, nothing could tear me away from
the makeover shows on TV. The thing about DIY is that it (4) ... (be)
easy to get sucked in. For example, you see a nasty mark on the wall,
and one thing leads to another and before you (5) ... (know) it the
whole room
(6) ... (need) redoing. I wouldn’t call myself obsessive, but given the
choice between going away for a week’s holiday and spending a week
at home decorating the spare room, I’d much rather do the latter. Once

I (7) ... (replace) the glass in a window just for the sake of it. It’s not
that
I was short of money. In fact I told myself that it (8) ... (be) all right
because of the money I was saving not getting people in to do jobs.
I also thought of myself as a bit of a craftsman, but in actual fact I
(9) ... (just fool) myself. Eventually, my wife realised it (10) ... (take
over) my life and she moved out. Sadly, when we split up, we had to
sell the house, so I (11) ... (lose) all my hard work. Perhaps I should
have had a solicitor at the divorce hearing instead of trying to do it
myself!

*6. Fill in with the appropriate Mood, Voice and Tense of the verbs
given in brackets; make use of any auxiliaries or modals you
need.

A.
My father had described over and over again what we (1) ... (to see) at
every milestone, after leaving the nearest town, so that I was positive

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I (2) ... (to recognize) it as familiar territory. Well, I (3) ... (to be)
wrong, for I was now lost. I looked at the map, then at the milometer.
I (4) ... (to come) ten miles since leaving the town, and at this point,
according to my father, I (5) ... (to look) at farms and cottages in a
valley with the spire of the church of our village (6) ... (to show) in
the distance. I (7) ... (can) see no valley, no farms, no cottages and no
church – only a lake. I decided that I (8) ... (to take) a wrong turning
somewhere. So I (9) ... (to drive) back to the town and began to
retrace the route, taking frequent glances at the map. I landed up at the
same corner. The curious thing was that the lake was not marked on
the map. I felt as if I (10) ... (to stumble) into a nightmare country, as
you sometimes do in dreams. Fortunately for me, as I (11) ... (to
wonder) what to do next, there (12) ... (to appear) on the horizon a
man on a horseback. I waited till he came near and I asked him the
way to our village. He said there (13) ... (to be) no village. I thought
he (14) ... (to misunderstand) me, so I repeated its name. This time he
pointed to the lake. The village no longer existed because it (15) ... (to
submerge) and all the valley, too.

B.
When I boarded the train I (1) ... (can help) noticing that a great many
people got on as well. At the time, this (2) ... (to strike) me as odd.
I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself who
wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither I (3) ... (to
be) surprised when the train stopped at a tiny station a few miles
along the line. Even a mighty express train can (4) ... (to hold up) by
signals. Then it suddenly (5) ... (to dawn) on me that this express
(6) ... (to roar) down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely
chugging along at thirty. One hour and seventeen minutes passed and
we (7) ... (to cover) even half the distance. I asked a passenger if this
was the Western Express, but he (8) ... (to hear) even of it. I was
determined to make a complaint as soon as we (9) ... (to arrive). Two
hours later, I (10) ... (to talk) angrily to a bored station master. When
he (11) ... (to deny) the train’s existence, I showed him my copy of
the time-table. (12) ... (to glance) at it briefly, he told me to look
again. A tiny asterisk (13) ... (to conduct) me to a footnote at the

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bottom of the page: “This service (14) ... (to suspend). Never I (15) ...
(to experience) such a frustrating thing before!

C.
When I opened the door I (1) ... (to see) a man on his knees. He
clearly
(2) ... (to listen) to our conversation, and I wondered how much he (3)
... (to hear). When I asked him what he (4) ... (to do), he said that he
(5) ...
(to drop) a 5-cent piece outside the door and (6) ... (to look) for it. I
(7) ... (to see) any sign of the money, but I (8) ... (to find) a small
notebook which he probably (9) ... (to drop) when the door (10) ... (to
open) suddenly. So he (11) ... (to take) notes of our conversation! The
notes (12) ... (to be) written in a foreign language, so I (13) ... (to turn)
to the stranger and asked him to translate. But he (14) ... (to pull) my
hat over my eyes and ran off down the corridor. By the time I (15) ...
(to recover) from the shock, he (16) ... (to disappear) round the corner.
Curiously enough when
I (17) ... (to move) my foot, I (18) ... (to find) that I (19) ... (to stand)
on a 5-cent piece. Perhaps he (20) ... (to tell) the truth after all.