Open the brackets. Use Past Simple, Past Progressive, Present Perfect 1. I (not to understand) those words last lesson.2. I (to talk)to him yesterday when the phone (ring) again. 3. She (not, yet, to arrive). 4. They (be) in Paris last summer?- No, …5. My mum ( to write) shopping list. It’s on the kitchen table.6. Mike never (to be) to England before. 7. You (ever to read) this novel? 8. Sam (to sleep) at 5 o’clock yesterday? 9. Where (to be) your sister last month? – She (to be) at the children’s camp. 10. My brother (not to play) tennis the other day. 11. What your father (to do) from eight till nine yesterday? 12. She (not to be) there today. 13. They (to sell) all their toys recently. 14. You (just to hear) the news? 15. While I (to talk) to my friend yesterday, I (to practise) my guitar.
- We use the Past Simple tense here because the action of not understanding happened in the past, specifically during the last lesson.
- "Didn't" is the negative form of the auxiliary verb "did" which is used to form the Past Simple tense.
2. I was talking to him yesterday when the phone rang again.
- We use the Past Progressive tense here because the action of talking was in progress when the phone rang.
- "Was talking" is the past progressive form of the verb "to talk" and "rang" is the past simple form of the verb "to ring".
3. She hasn't arrived yet.
- We use the Present Perfect tense here because the action of arriving is related to the present time.
- "Hasn't arrived" is the negative form of the auxiliary verb "has" which is used to form the present perfect tense, and "yet" is used to indicate that the action hasn't happened up to now.
4. They were in Paris last summer? - No, they weren't.
- We use the Past Simple tense here to describe a past action, specifically being in Paris last summer.
- "Were" is the past simple form of the verb "to be".
5. My mum has written the shopping list. It's on the kitchen table.
- We use the Present Perfect tense here because the action of writing the shopping list is related to the present time.
- "Has written" is the present perfect form of the verb "to write".
6. Mike has never been to England before.
- We use the Present Perfect tense here to talk about an action that started in the past and has a connection to the present.
- "Has been" is the present perfect form of the verb "to be".
7. Have you ever read this novel?
- We use the Present Perfect tense here to talk about a past action without specifying the exact time.
- "Have you ever read" is the present perfect form of the verb "to read".
8. Did Sam sleep at 5 o'clock yesterday?
- We use the Past Simple tense here to talk about a specific past time, in this case, 5 o'clock yesterday.
- "Did" is the past simple form of the auxiliary verb "do".
9. Where was your sister last month? - She was at the children's camp.
- We use the Past Simple tense here to talk about a specific past time, last month.
- "Was" is the past simple form of the verb "to be".
10. My brother didn't play tennis the other day.
- We use the Past Simple tense here to talk about a past action that didn't happen.
- "Didn't play" is the negative form of the past simple form of the verb "to play".
11. What was your father doing from eight till nine yesterday?
- We use the Past Progressive tense here to talk about an action that was in progress at a specific time, from eight till nine yesterday.
- "Was doing" is the past progressive form of the verb "to do".
12. She isn't there today.
- We use the Present Simple tense here to talk about a current state or situation.
- "Isn't" is the short form of "is not" which is used to form the negative in the present simple tense.
13. They have sold all their toys recently.
- We use the Present Perfect tense here to talk about a past action with a connection to the present.
- "Have sold" is the present perfect form of the verb "to sell".
14. Have you just heard the news?
- We use the Present Perfect tense here to talk about a past action without specifying the exact time. "Just" indicates that the action happened very recently.
- "Have you just heard" is the present perfect form of the verb "to hear".
15. While I was talking to my friend yesterday, I was practicing my guitar.
- We use the Past Progressive tense here to talk about two actions that were happening simultaneously in the past.
- "Was talking" and "was practicing" are the past progressive forms of the verbs "to talk" and "to practice".