Skip to content
Fill in the blanks with Simple Past / Present Perfect
Excercise-1
1.A: Did you like the movie “Star Wars”?
B: I don’t know. I (see, never) …………………………… that movie.
2.Sam (arrive) …………………………… in San Diego a week ago.
3.My best friend and I (know) ….. each other for over fifteen years. We still get together once a week.
4.Stinson is a fantastic writer. He (write) …………….. ten very creative short stories in the last year.
One day, he’ll be as famous as Hemingway.
5.I (have, not) …………………………… this much fun since I (be) …………….. a kid.
6.Things (change) …………….. a great deal at Coltech, Inc. When we first (start) ………… working here
three years ago, the company (have, only) ……………. six employees. Since then, we (expand)………. to
include more than 2000 full-time workers.
7.I (tell) ……………. him to stay on the path while he was hiking, but he (wander) …………………. off
into the forest and (be) …………………. bitten by a snake.
8.Listen Donna, I don’t care if you (miss) ……….. the bus this morning. You (be) ………….. late to
work too many times. You are fired!
9.Sam is from Colorado, which is hundreds of miles from the coast, so he (see, never) ………….. the
ocean. He should come with us to Miami.
10.How sad! George (dream) ………….. of going to California before died, but he didn’t make it. He
(see, never) …………. the ocean.
11.In the last hundred years, traveling (become) ……………… much easier and very comfortable. In the
19th century, it (take) …. two or three months to cross North America by covered wagon. The trip
(be) ……..very rough and often dangerous. Things (change)………… a great deal in the last hundred and
fifty years. Now you can fly from New York to Los Angeles in a matter of hours.
12.Jonny, I can’t believe how much you (change)……… since the last time I (see)…………… you. You
(grow) …………… at least a foot!
13.This tree (be)……. planted by the settlers who (found)……….. our city over four hundred years ago.
14.This mountain (be, never) …………………………… climbed by anyone. Several mountaineers (try)
…………………………… to reach the top, but nobody (succeed, ever) ……………. The climb is extremely
difficult and many people (die) ……………. trying to reach the summit.
15.I (visit, never) …………….. Africa, but I (travel) …………….. to South America several times. The
last time I (go)…………… to South America, I (visit) ………………. Brazil and Peru. I (spend)………… two
weeks in the Amazon, (hike) ……. for a week near Machu Picchu, and (fly) ….. over the Nazca Lines.
Excercise-2
1.Since computers were first introduced to the public in the early 1980’s, technology (change)
…………………………… a great deal. The first computers (be) …………………………… simple machines designed
for basic tasks. They (have, not) …………………………… much memory and they (be, not)…………………………… very powerful. Early computers were often quite expensive and customers often (pay) ………………………… thousands of dollars for machines which actually (do) …………………………… very little. Most computers (be) …………………………… separate, individual machines used mostly as expensive typewriters or for playing games.
2.Times (change) ……………………………. Computers (become) …………………………… powerful machines
with very practical applications. Programmers (create) …………………………… a large selection of
useful programs which do everything from teaching foreign languages to bookkeeping. We are still
playing video games, but today’s games (become) …………………………… faster, more exciting interactive
adventures. Many computer users (get, also) …………………………… on the Internet and (begin)
…………………………… communicating with other computer users around the world. We (start)
…………………………… to create international communities online. In short, the simple, individual machines of the past (evolve) …………………………… into an international World Wide Web of knowledge.
