|
|
STRUCTURE |
USAGE |
COMMON WORDS |
|
Present Perf. |
HAVE / HAS + verb (past participle) |
– Actions that started in the past and
continue up to the present: I have studied
English for 3 years. – Indefinite past actions: Ayrton Senna has
died. – Very recent past actions: Terry has just done
his homework. |
for, since, how long
already, ever, yet, never just |
|
Present Perf. Cont. |
HAVE / HAS BEEN + verb (ING) |
– Emphasizes actions that started in the past
and continue up to the present: I have been studying
English for 3 years. – Actions that started in the past and are in
progress in the present: I have been typing
this page since 11 a.m. |
for, since, how long |
|
Past Perf. |
HAD + verb (past
participle) |
– The one action of two that happened first
in the past: They had had
breakfast before they went to school. |
before, after, when |
|
Past Perf. Cont. |
HAD BEEN + verb
(ING) |
– The one action of two that happened first for
some time in the past: They had been having
breakfast for 15 minutes when they went to school. |
for, when |
A. Complete
the sentences with a suitable perfect or past tense form of the verb in
brackets:
1. So far, we (not / notice) haven’t noticed anything unusual,
but we are paying close attention now.
2. I am sorry I (not / come) ___ to
class lately.
3. I wonder if Mary (reach) ___ home
yet. She (leave) ___ too late to catch the bus.
4. Here is the news. The radio
(announce) ___ that the two prisoners who (escape) ___ from jail earlier this
morning (give themselves up) ___ to local police.
5. Recent research (show) ___ that
Columbus (not/ discover) ___ America, but that Vikings (land) ___ there 500
years before him.
6. I think that people (become) ___ tired
of poor quality of television programs, though they (improve) ___ lately.
B. Decide if the verb form underlined is
correct or not. If it is correct, check it (ü). If not, correct it.
Text 1
The train (1) stopped working at a small station miles from London, and it (2) became apparent that it (3) had broken down. Everyone (4) was getting their cases down from the luggage racks, and we (5) were waiting on the platform in the freezing wind for hours until the next train (6) was turning up.
(1) ü (2)
________________ (3) ________________
(4) ________________ (5) ________________ (6)
________________
Text 2
The mysterious disappearance of Professor Dawson (1) was on Inspector Gorse’s mind. Six months before his disappearance, he (2) was receiving a letter from Jean Dawson, his wife. In the letter, Jean (3) accused her husband of plotting to murder her. Gorse (4) considered his next step when the phone rang. It was Sergeant Adams from The Thames Valley police force. A fisherman (5) discovered a body in the river, and it (6) fitted the description of the Professor.
(1) ________________ (2) ________________ (3)
________________
(4) ________________ (5) ________________ (6)
________________
C. Complete the text with a suitable past tense for of the verbs:
This
time last year I (1) was cycling (cycle) in the rain along a country
road in France with a friend of mine. We (2) ___ (decide) to go on a cycling
holiday in Normandy. Neither of us (3) ___ (be) to France before, but
we (4) ___ (know)
some French from our time at school and we (5) ___ (manage) to brush up on the
basics. Now we (6) ___ (wonder)
if we (7) ___ (make)
the right decision. We (8) ___ (plan) our route carefully in advance, but we (9) ___ (forget)
one important thing: the weather. It (10) ___ (rain) solidity since our
arrival and that night we (11) ___ (end up) sleeping in the waiting room at a railway
station. Then the next morning as we (12) ___ (ride) down a steep hill, my
bike (13) ___ (skid)
on the wet road and (14) ___
(fall off). I (15) ___ (realize) immediately that I
(16) ___ (break)
my arm, and after a visit to the local hospital I (17) ___ (catch) the next train to
Calais for the ferry home. Unfortunately, my parents (18) ___ (not –
expect) me home for a fortnight, and (19) ___ (go) away on holiday. So, I
(20) ___ (spend)
a miserable couple of weeks alone, reading “Teach Yourself French”.
