High School

A. Read the text below and complete each blank with one word. All missing words are auxiliary verbs (is, was, have, has, had, do, does, did, etc.).

My life (1) ______ improved a lot since last year. You see, before that I (2) ______ been working in the same job for five years, and I (3) ______ beginning to feel rather bored. I (4) ______ getting ready to apply for another job when one day my boss called me into her office. "Our company (5) ______ planning to expand overseas," she said. "We (6) ______ thinking of starting with Spain, therefore we will (7) ______ needing some of our best employees to support our new branch there. (8) ______ you think you would be interested in a transfer?" Naturally, I accepted, although at the time I (9) ______ not know that they (10) ______ also going to promote me to assistant manager.

By the end of this month, I will have (11) ______ living in Madrid for a year. You can't imagine how exciting my life (12) ______ become.

B. Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Simple, Past Progressive, Present Perfect Simple, or Present Perfect Progressive, and complete the boxes with the time words below. Use each time word only once.

for, while, yet, still, when, ago, already, since

1. Mary ______ (have) a bath yesterday evening. I was in the kitchen. I ______ (cook) her favorite dish because I ______ (want) to surprise her. She ______ (come) into the kitchen; she couldn't believe her eyes!

2. Jim: Mum, I ______ (look) for my black belt ______ the past hour, and I ______ (not find) it. ______ you (see) it anywhere?

Mother: No, but I think you ______ (lend) it to your brother about a week ______. He ______ (not give) it back to me. I bet he ______ (wear) it all week. Where is he now, Mum?

Mother: I'm afraid Mark ______ (leave). He ______ (get) up about an hour before you ______ (do).

3. I ______ (work) on this project ______ this morning, but I ______ (not finish) it. What am I going to tell my boss?

Answer :

Part A

In this part, we need to complete the blanks in the text with appropriate auxiliary verbs. Let's go through each blank:

  1. has - "My life has improved a lot since last year." This uses the present perfect tense to show the change over time.

  2. had - "I had been working in the same job for five years..." The past perfect continuous tense indicates the action was ongoing over a period of time.

  3. was - "I was beginning to feel rather bored." The past continuous tense shows an ongoing action in the past.

  4. was - "I was getting ready to apply..." Again, past continuous for an ongoing past action.

  5. is - "Our company is planning to expand overseas..." This is in the present continuous, indicating an action happening now or in the near future.

  6. are - "We are thinking of starting..." This is in the present continuous tense.

  7. be - "...we will be needing some of our best employees..." The future continuous is used here.

  8. Do - "Do you think you would be interested...?" Simple present tense is used to ask a general question.

  9. did - "...at the time I did not know that they..." Simple past tense is used for an action that has completed.

  10. were - "...they were also going to promote me..." Past continuous is appropriate for actions planned in the past.

  11. been - "...will have been living in Madrid for a year..." This is part of the future perfect continuous tense, showing an ongoing action up to a point in the future.

  12. has - "...my life has become." This uses the present perfect, indicating a change up to now.

Part B

In this section, we need to fill in the gaps with correct forms of verbs in the specified tenses. Let's complete each sentence:

  1. Mary had - "Mary had a bath yesterday evening. I was in the kitchen. I was cooking her favourite dish because I wanted to surprise her. She came into the kitchen, she couldn’t believe her eyes!"

    1. Past Simple: "had"
    2. Past Progressive: "was cooking"
    3. Past Simple: "wanted"
    4. Past Simple: "came"

  2. Jim: - "Mum, I have been looking for my black belt for the past hour and I have not found it. Have you seen it anywhere? Mother: No, but I think you lent it to your brother about a week ago. He has not given it back to me. I bet he has been wearing it all week. Where is he now, Mum?

    • Present Perfect Progressive: "have been looking"
    • Present Perfect Simple: "have not found"
    • Present Perfect Simple: "have seen"
    • Past Simple: "lent"
    • Present Perfect Simple: "has not given"
    • Present Perfect Progressive: "has been wearing"

  3. I have been working - "I have been working on this project since this morning but I have not finished it. What am I going to tell my boss?"

    • Present Perfect Progressive: "have been working"
    • Present Perfect Simple: "have not finished"

This exercise helps practice the use of auxiliary verbs and understand different tenses in English, essential skills for constructing grammatically correct sentences.

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