Page 58 - 12 YDT

Exercises - Tenses

I) Use the Past Continuous or Past Perfect Continuous forms of the verbs in parentheses to
complete the sentences.

1. Several historic towns around the city _________________ (face) the threat of bulldozers since land developers
_________________________ (plan) to replace them with hotels and shopping centres.
2. It was obvious that some jury members _________________ (work) on the case for some time, for they knew
a great deal about the events related to the trial.

3. When the robbers entered the bank with guns drawn, the clerks _________________ (check) banking records
at the end of the day.

4. The museum management _________________ (experience) financial difficulties since the beginning of the
economic crisis when they finally had to give in to creditors and declare bankruptcy.

5. While human resources officials _________________ (review) the applications, they realised that they
_________________ (approach) the recruitment process with the wrong set of assumptions for days.

J) Use the Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, or Past Perfect Continuous forms of the
verbs in parentheses to complete the sentences.

1. Before the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia _________________ (invent) the cuneiform circa 3500–3000
BC, people _________________ (rely upon) such rudimentary writing systems as pictographs, hieroglyphs,
and ideograms.

2. The state _________________ (govern) a territory larger than Britain, France, and Germany combined for fifty
years when it _________________ (fall into) chaos due to a series of domestic and international crises.
3 . While the restoration works _________________ (take) place, all the rooms were covered with scaffolding and
plastic sheeting because the owners _________________ (want) to ensure that the original paint surfaces
would not be harmed.

4 . Real estate speculators _________________ (no sooner / purchase) rural farms than the degradation of
existing agricultural lands in the area _________________ (commence).

5 . Before the onset of the financial crisis known as the Great Recession in December 2007, the USA
_________________ (see) periods of steady economic growth and declining unemployment since the early
1990s.
6 . When the dominant powers finally _________________ (decide) to split Korea into two different states in 1948,
NATO forces _________________ (defend) the Korean peninsula with brand new jet aircraft, tanks, and
cannons.

7 . The manager _________________ (ask) if any of the employees _________________ (experience) any
problems with their paychecks the month before.
8 . By the time the typhoon _________________ (reach) Okinawa, a Japanese island in the East China Sea,
residents __________ _____________ (evacuate) the region for more than a day.

9 . Before Britain _________________ (colonise) India, the country _________________ (be) part of the Mughal
Empire and the Hindu caste system since the 16th century.
10. While the documentary director _________________ (shoot) the final episode of workers in the tea fields, he
_________________ (learn) that the factory _________________ (not / pay) them the legal minimum wage
for almost a year.

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