Fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb form.
1. I ………………………. the minister tomorrow.
The present continuous is used to refer to future events that are already arranged.
2. ‘The phone is ringing.’ ‘I ………………………. it.’
Will is used to announce our decisions.
3. Good luck with the exam. I ………………………… of you.
The future continuous is used to say that something will be in progress at a particular moment in the future.
4. ……………………….. I turn the heating on?
We use shall in polite offers and requests.
5. All the trouble ………………………… by you.
We use the passive verb here because the subject is not the doer of the action.
6. When you phoned I ……………………….. in the garden.
When we talk about two past events, we often use the past continuous for the longer background action.
7. After I ………………………… with him for a few weeks, I developed a strange liking for him.
The past perfect is used for the earlier of two past actions.
8. When we were children we ……………………. go swimming every Sunday.
Both would and used to can refer to repeated actions in the past.
9. It would have been nice if he ………………………. us.
In the third conditional we use a past perfect tense in the if-clause and would have + past participle in the main clause.
10. Sulphuric acid ……………………….. most metals.
We use the simple future to talk about habits and characteristic behavior.
11. I ………………………… the whole job by this evening.
We use the future perfect tense to indicate that an action or situation will have been completed by a certain point of time in the past.
Answers
1. I am seeing the minister tomorrow.
2. ‘The phone is ringing.’ ‘I will answer it.’
3. Good luck with the exam. I will be thinking of you.
4. Shall I turn the heating on?
5. All the trouble was caused by you.
6. When you phoned I was working in the garden.
7. After I had worked with him for a few weeks, I developed a strange liking for him.
8. When we were children we used to / would go swimming every Sunday.
9. It would have been nice if he had thanked us.
10. Sulphuric acid will dissolve most metals.
11. I will have finished the whole job by this evening.
