Work & Professional Life
(A) She works in marketing.
(B) She is working in marketing every day.
A — works is correct. Present Simple is used for permanent jobs and routines.
Fill in the blank: The director ______ (win) the Best Film Oscar in 2019.
Hint: Completed action at a specific past time.
won — Past Simple for a completed action at a definite past time.
Choose the correct sentence:
(A) Pollution has increased since 2000.
(B) Pollution increased since 2000.
Hint: Which tense connects a past event to the present?
A — Present Perfect with since connects a past point to the present moment.
Choose the correct sentence:
(A) By the time police arrived, the thief escaped.
(B) By the time police arrived, the thief had escaped.
Hint: "By the time" signals that one past action happened before another.
B — Past Perfect for the action that happened BEFORE another past action (arrived).
Fill in the blank: My boss ______ (hold) an important video call right now, so please don't interrupt.
Hint: Something happening at the moment of speaking.
is holding — Present Continuous (is + verb-ing) for actions in progress right now.
Choose the correct option: "When the lights went out, the audience ______ the trailer."
(A) watched (B) was watching
Hint: Which action was in progress when the other interrupted?
B — was watching. Past Continuous for the ongoing background action interrupted by "went out" (Past Simple).
Fill in the blank: Scientists ______ (study) the effects of air pollution on cities for the past decade.
Hint: A long, ongoing activity that started in the past and continues now.
have been studying — PPC emphasises the duration of an ongoing activity.
Fill in the blank: The detective realised the suspect ______ (lie) to him the whole time.
Hint: The lying started before and continued up to the moment of realisation.
had been lying — PPC for an ongoing action prior to a past moment of discovery.
Spot the error and correct it: "I am usually starting work at 9 and I am finishing at 5 every day."
Hint: Think about which tense describes daily routines and habits.
I usually start work at 9 and I finish at 5 every day. — Use Present Simple for habits, not Present Continuous.
Fill in both blanks: "While the crew ______ (film) the final scene, the lead actor suddenly ______ (forget) all his lines."
Hint: One action was in progress; the other happened suddenly and interrupted it.
was filming / forgot — Past Continuous for the background action; Past Simple for the sudden interruption.
Explain the difference:
(A) "The council has built 50 new cycle lanes."
(B) "The council has been building cycle lanes."
Hint: Completed result vs. ongoing process.
(A) focuses on the completed result/number (50 lanes). (B) emphasises the ongoing process and duration. PPS = result; PPC = activity/duration.
Complete the sentence: "When investigators entered the abandoned warehouse, it was clear that someone ______ (hide) there for several weeks."
Hint: Something was ongoing for a period and evidence of it was visible at a past moment.
had been hiding — PPC shows an ongoing activity in progress before and up to a past moment.
Complete both gaps: "She ______ (work) for this company for 10 years and right now she ______ (train) a new employee."
Hint: One is a fact/routine; the other is in progress at this moment.
has worked / is training — Present Perfect for duration up to now; Present Continuous for current action.
Correct the error: "They were reviewing the script for two hours before the director was arriving."
Hint: Which tense is used for an action completed before another past action?
They had been reviewing the script for two hours before the director arrived. — Past Perfect Continuous for the earlier ongoing action; Past Simple for the later event.
Fill in both blanks: "The city ______ (invest) heavily in green energy since 2015, and recently it ______ (complete) its first solar-powered metro line."
Hint: One = ongoing effort over time; the other = recently finished achievement.
has been investing / has completed — PPC for ongoing effort; PPS for a recently completed achievement.
Explain the difference:
(A) "The police had interviewed ten witnesses by midnight."
(B) "The police had been interviewing witnesses for hours."
Hint: Think about what each sentence emphasises.
(A) Past Perfect Simple — focuses on the completed number/result (ten witnesses). (B) Past Perfect Continuous — emphasises the duration and ongoing nature of the process.
Explain the difference in meaning:
(A) "He thinks the proposal is brilliant."
(B) "He is thinking about the proposal."
Hint: Some verbs are rarely used in the continuous — why?Stative vs Dynamic
(A) thinks = opinion/state verb (stative) → Present Simple. (B) is thinking = mental activity in progress → Present Continuous. State verbs (think, know, believe) don't normally take -ing for states.
Use ALL FOUR past tenses in one sentence (or two) about a film premiere going wrong.
Hint: Think: what happened regularly before, what was ongoing, what was completed earlier, and what happened suddenly?
e.g. "The actress, who had prepared her speech for weeks, was walking the red carpet when she suddenly tripped — the press photographer, who worked there every premiere, caught the whole moment." (Past Perfect, Past Continuous, Past Simple, habitual Past Simple).
Correct all errors: "Temperatures have been rise dramatically. Scientists have study the causes since years, and they have been find clear evidence of human impact."
Hint: Check verb forms for both PPS and PPC.
Temperatures have been rising dramatically. Scientists have been studying / have studied the causes for years, and they have found clear evidence of human impact.
Write a 2–3 sentence mini mystery story using Past Perfect Simple AND Past Perfect Continuous at least once each.
Hint: Someone discovers something — what had happened before? What had someone been doing?
e.g. "When Detective Marsh finally opened the locked room, she immediately understood: someone had removed the painting hours earlier. The thief had been waiting patiently in the shadows — the coffee cup was still warm." (had removed = PPS; had been waiting = PPC).