Verb tense exercise 7 - Present Perfect / Present Perfect Continuous

Robin: I think the waiter has forgotten us. We have been waiting here for over half an hour and nobody has taken our order yet.
Michele: I think you're right. He has walked by us at least twenty times. He probably thinks we have already ordered.
Robin: Look at that couple over there, they have only been here for five or ten minutes and they already have their food.
Michele: He must realize we haven't ordered yet! We have been sitting here for over half an hour staring at him.
Robin: I don't know if he has even noticed us. He has been running from table to table taking orders and serving food.
Michele: That's true, and he hasn't looked in our direction once.

Verb tense exercise 8 - Present Perfect / Present Perfect Continuous

1. Judy: How long have you been in Canada?
Claude: I have been studying here for more than three years.
2. I have had the same car for more than ten years. I'm thinking about buying a new one.
3. I have loved chocolate since I was a child. You might even call me a "chocoholic."
4. Matt and Sarah have been having some difficulties in their relationship lately, so they have been going to a marriage counselor. I hope they work everything out.
5. John has been working for the government since he graduated from Harvard University. Until recently, he has been enjoying his work, but now he is talking about retiring.
6. Lately, I have been thinking about changing my career because I have become dissatisfied with the conditions at my company.
7. I have been seeing Judy for more than five years and during that time I have seen many changes in her personality.

Verb tense exercise 12 - Simple Past / Present Perfect / Past Perfect

1. When I arrived home last night, I discovered that Jane had prepared a beautiful candlelight dinner.
2. Since I began acting, I have performed in two plays, a television commercial and a TV drama. However, I had never even spoken publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1985.
3. By the time I got to the office, the meeting had already begun without me. My boss was furious with me and I was fired.
4. When I turned the radio on yesterday, I heard a song that was popular when I was in high school. I hadn't heard the song in years, and it brought back some great memories.
5. Last week, I ran into an ex-girlfriend of mine. We hadn't seen each other in years, and both of us had changed a great deal. I enjoyed talking to her so much that I asked her out on a date. We are getting together tonight for dinner.
6. When Jack entered the room, I didn't recognize him because he had lost so much weight and had grown a beard. He looked totally different!
7. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan; however, their culture had virtually disappeared by the time Europeans firstarrived in the New World.
8. I have visited so many beautiful places since I came to Utah. Before moving here, I had never heard of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, or Canyonlands.

Verb tense exercise 14 - present perfect/present perfect continuous/past perfect/past perfect continuous

1. It is already 9:30 PM and I have been waiting here for over an hour. If John does not get here in the next five minutes, I am going to leave.
2. I was really angry at John yesterday. By the time he finally arrived, I had been waiting for over an hour. I almost left without him.
3. Did you hear that Ben was fired last month? He had been working for that import company for more than ten years and he had worked in almost every department. Nobody knew the company like he did.
4. I had seen many pictures of the pyramids before I went to Egypt. Pictures of the monuments are very misleading. The pyramids are actually quite small.
5. Sarah has climbed the Matterhorn, has sailed around the world, and has gone on safari in Kenya. She is such an adventurous person.
6. Sarah had climbed the Matterhorn, had sailed around the world and had gone on safari in Kenya by the time she turned twenty-five. She had experienced more by that age than most people do in their entire lives.
7. When Melanie came into the office yesterday, her eyes were red and watery. I think she had been crying.

Verb tense exercise 16 - present and past tenses and non-continuous verbs

1.
a. Look, I have two tickets for the circus.
b. Look, I am holding two tickets for the circus.
2.
a. We had been there for more than half an hour by the time the show began.
b. We had been waiting there for more than half an hour by the time the show began.
3.
a. Sam was sitting in the seat next to me when the clown threw a bucket of water at me.
b. Sam was in the seat next to me when the clown threw a bucket of water at me.
4.
a. One clown was juggling while he was balancing a glass of wine on his head.
b. One clown was juggling while he had a glass of wine on his head.
5.
a. I have loved the circus ever since I was a child.
b. I have been going to the circus ever since I was a child.
6.
a. Right now, I see two elephants doing tricks in the ring.
b. Right now, I am looking at two elephants doing tricks in the ring.

Verb tense exercise 17 - present and past tense review

Lars: Excuse me, which movie are you waiting for?
Tony: We are waiting for the new Stars Wars movie. In fact, we have been waiting here for more than five hours.
Lars: Five hours? When did you arrive?
Tony: We got here at 6:00 o'clock this morning. More than forty people were already standing here waiting for tickets when we arrived.
Lars: I can't believe that! Are you serious?
Tony: Yeah, people take Star Wars movies seriously. In fact, this particular showing has been sold out for over a week. We (wait, just) are just waiting in line to get a good seat in the theatre.
Lars: When did you buy your tickets?
Tony: I bought them last week by phone. I knew tickets would be hard to get because I had seen a news interview with a group of people standing in line to get tickets. They had been waiting in line for almost a month to buy tickets for the first showing.
Lars: I don't believe that!
Tony: It's true. They camped out in front of Mann's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles for about a month because they wanted to be the first people to see the movie.