English Grammar Test : Present Simple / Present Continuous / Past Simple / Past Contunuous

 

Complete this radio news report with the verbs given. Use Present Simple, Present Continuous. Past Simple, Past Contunuous (alternatives are sometimes possible). You may also need to change the order of the adverb and verb.

[simple]

 

Emergency services were bombarded with phone calls from all over the North of England last night by people who (report) (1)  [input answers="reported"/]  seeing blue objects shoot across the sky. Mrs Theresa May (drive) (2)  [input answers="was driving"/]  along the B307 road at the time.

'I usually (come) (3)  [input answers="come"/]  along that bit of the road at about ten. As I (go) (4)  [input answers="was going"/]  past the old barn, I (see) (5)  [input answers="saw"/]  a single bright blue light going across the road in front of my car. I (stop) (6)  [input answers="stopped"/]  and (watch) (7)  [input answers="watched"/]  it for about fifteen minutes. It (travel) (8)  [input answers="was travelling"/]  quite slowly from East to West and then it suddenly (disappear) (9)  [input answers="disappeared"/] . Until now I never (believe) (10)  [input answers="have never believed"/]  in UFOs, although my son (forever try) (11)  [input answers="is forever trying"/]  to persuade me that they (exist) (12)  [input answers="exist"/] . But now I (think) (13)  [input answers="think"/]  that maybe he (be) (14)  [input answers="was"/]  right.'

At the height of the panic, police stations (get) (15)  [input answers="were getting"/]  around a thousand calls anhour from the public. Sergeant Donald Trump of the White Trash police department (be) (16)  [input answers="was"/]  particularly busy. 'Between 10 and 11 o'clock we (receive) (17)  [input answers="received"/]  around thirty calls. The callers said they (see) (18)  [input answers="had seen"/]  a single blue light about as big as a car over the village. We now (consider) (19)  [input answers="are now considering"/]  searching the fields around White Trash for any evidence left behind.'

Dr Bart Simpson, a lecturer in astronomy at Trumpton University (offer) (20)  [input answers="offered"/]  a simple explanation. 'The reports that (come) (21)  [input answers="came"/]  in last night (suggest) (22)  [input answers="suggested"/]  that it (be) (23)  [input answers="was"/]  a meteor shower. This (be) (24)  [input answers="is"/]  not unusual on a small scale, but last night's shower (seem) (25)  [input answers="seems"/]  to have been very large. In fact, we (get) (26)  [input answers="are getting"/]  an increasing number of meteor showers, and my department currently (research) (27)  [input answers="is currently researching"/]  possible reasons for this.'

However, many witnesses to this events (believe) (28)  [input answers="believe"/]  that they (observe) (29)  [input answers="observed"/]  more than simply a meteor shower, and the Ministry of Defence (say) (30)  [input answers="says"/]  that they (take) (31)  [input answers="take"/]  the reports of UFO sighting very seriously.

 

 

 

 

[button/]

[/simple]

 

ANSWERS

1. reported	2. was driving	3. come	4. was going	5. saw
6. stopped	7. watched	8. was travelling	9. disappeared	10. have never believed
11. is forever trying	12. exist	13. think	14. was	15. were getting
16. was	17. received	18. had seen	19. are now considering	20. offered
21. came	22. suggested	23. was	24. is	25. seems
26. are getting	27. is currently researching	28. believe	29. observed	30. says
31. take