What's that tense?

Lessons (1b): Two tests. Can you name your English tenses?

 

Test story 1: The Footballer

Write down the story, and find all the "past simple" tenses.
Then identify the other tenses (is it a present continuous? Is it a "going to" future? Is it passive?).
Finally, click to see the answers.

"I was born in London in 1983, and I went to school there from 1988 to 1995 when my family moved to Manchester. I played football at least one hour a day from 1995 to 2000.

One day in July 2000 I had been on a Football Association youth course, and I was playing a friendly game when a representative of Manchester United saw me and offered me a training contract. I've been a professional footballer since 1998. In 2012 I started coaching too.

Now I play for Leeds United. I started last month, and I love it. I’m living in a hotel. I want to buy a house near Leeds, maybe in a small village in the country.

Next year I'm going to play for England. I'm meeting the rest of the England squad in January.

I expect I'll retire from professional football in 2020. By then I'll have been kicking a ball around for thirty years!"

Click here for the answers to Story 1.

 

 

Test story 2: The Life of Steve Jobs

Write down the story, then fill the gaps. Use the verbs in the [brackets].
For example, the first verb is a past simple: "The late Steve Jobs, who died..."
Finally, click to see the answers.

"The late Steve Jobs, who ..........[1. die] of cancer on 05.10.2011, ..........[2. be] a charismatic American businessman and inventor.

He ..........[3. be born] in California on 24.02.1955. His natural parents ..........[4. be] not married at the time, and they ..........[5. arrange] for him ..........[6. be adopted] immediately.

His new mother ..........[7. be] an accountant and his new father ..........[8. be] a very practical man. Although he ..........[9. work] long hours for a company that ..........[10. make] lasers, he always ..........[11. spend] a lot of time with Steve. Even when Steve ..........[12. be] very young he ..........[13. encourage] him to work with his hands and to make things with wood, metal and electronics.

When he ..........[14. leave] school in 1972, Steve Jobs went to Reed College in Oregon but ..........[15. drop out] after only a few months. He did not have a job, so he used to go to a Hare Krishna temple to get free food. In 1974 he ..........[16. still go] to lectures at the college when he ..........[17. find] a job at Atari Computers in California.

When he ..........[18. die] in 2011 at the age of 56 he ..........[19. be] an important world figure for more than 20 years. If he ..........[20. not die] so young, he ..........[21. might influence] the world as much as Bill Gates of Microsoft – or perhaps even more.

Apple Computers, the company that Steve Jobs helped to start in 1976, ..........[22. become] one of the most important influences on 21st century culture, and today its latest range of products ..........[23. take] everyday life in a new direction for millions of people."

Click here for the answers to Story 2.

 

If you didn't get 100%, find lessons here:

English tenses: