7. Sequence of Tenses

Exercise 7.1. Rewrite these sentences using the Past Tense.

1. My uncle says he has just come back from the Caucasus. 2. He says he has spent two months to build the house. 3. He says it did him a lot of good. 4. She says she feels better now. 5. He says his wife and he are spending most of their time on the beach this week. 6. He says they did a lot of sightseeing. 7. He says he has bought a good camera. 8. He says he took many photographs while travelling in the Caucasus. 9. He says he will come to see us next Sunday. 10. He says he is busy now.

Exercise 7.2. Rewrite the sentences using the Past Tense.

1. Nick says he is going to the hotel to see his friends, who have just arrived in St. Petersburg from the United States of America. 2. He says they have not been here for a long time. 3. He says they were friends at school. 4. He says he will take them to the theatre on Sunday. 5. They say they will write me a letter when they return home. 6. Mike says he is sure Ann and Kate will be excellent guides. 7. He says they have made good progress in English. 8. Oleg says that in a day or two several English cadets will come to pay a visit to their military school and he will probably have to act as interpreter. 9. Ann says she has just met Boris in the street. 10. She says Boris told her a lot of interesting things about his travels in the south.

Exercise 7.3. Choose the correct tense in these sentences.

1. Не said he (is staying, was staying) at the "Ritz" Hotel. 2. They realized that they (lost, had lost) their way in the dark. 3. He asked me where I (study, studied). 4. I thought that I (shall finish, should finish) my work at that time. 5 He says he (serve, served) in this unit two years ago. 6. Victor said he (is, was) very busy. 7. My friend asked me who (is playing, was playing) the piano in the sitting-room. 8. He said he (will come, would come) to the station to see me off. 9. I was sure he (posted, had posted) the letter. 10. I think the weather (will be, would be) fine next week. I hope it (will not change, would not change) for the worse. 11. I knew that he (is, was) a very clever man. 12. I want to know what he (has bought, had bought) for her birthday. 13. I asked my sister to tell me what she (has seen, had seen) at the museum. 14. He asked me to tell him what time it (is, was).

Exercise 7.4. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. Не said he ___ (to leave) tomorrow morning. 2. She says she already ___ (to find) the book. 3. He stopped and listened: the clock ___ (to strike) five. 4. She said she ___ (can) not tell me the right time, her watch ___ (to be) wrong. 5. I asked my neighbour if he ever ___ (to travel) by air before. 6. The policeman asked George where he ___ (to run) so early. 7. The delegates were told that the guide just ___ (to go) out and ___ (to be) back in ten minutes. 8. I knew that they ___ (to wait) for me at the bus station and I decided to hurry. 9. I didn't know that you already ___ (to finish) your report. 10. He says that he ___ (to know) the laws of the country. 11. The pilot didn’t know that the enemy fighter ___ (to follow) him. 12. The teacher asked me whether I ___ (to remember) about the article. 13. He couldn’t understand why people ___ (not to want) to buy his book.

Exercise 7.5. Choose the correct item.

1. I knew that Mercury (be) the closest planet to the sun, but I didn’t feel like answering the questions.

a) was

b) is

c) had been

2. Mike hoped that his friend (help) him with his car.

a) would help

b) will help

c) helped

3. We didn’t know the score, but we were sure their team (lose) the game.

a) has lost

b) had lost

c) lost

4. Yesterday Tom heard that his aunt (be ill) for five days.

a) was ill

b) has been ill

c) had been ill

5. The cadet wasn’t able to do the translation because he (not / know) some special terms.

a) hadn’t know

b) didn’t know

c) doesn’t know

6. He gave all his money to me because he (trust) me.

a) would trust

b) trusted

c) had trust

7. We were told that Andrew (go) to enter that college.

a) is going

b) went

c) was going

8. The police found out that Bob Slant (live) in London’s suburbs at that time.

a) had been living

b) lives

c) lived

9. My parents decided that we (celebrate) my birthday on Saturday.

a) would celebrate

b) shall celebrate

c) celebrated

10. Ann hasn’t been informed that the lecture (not / take place) on Friday.

a) hasn’t taken place

b) wouldn’t take place

c) won’t take place