Narrative tenses worksheet - Exercises

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form in the gap AFTER the verb. Where no verb is given, put one of the following linking words into the gaps.

but isn't used

The Unlucky Burglar

One evening Paul was watching the television and eating his supper when the door suddenly opened and a burglar came in. He was wearing a mask and carrying a sack. Before doing anything else he tied Paul to the chair. Then he went upstairs to look for money. Although he didn't find any money he found a lot of jewelry, which he put into his sack. In his rush to get downstairs he didn't see the dog lying at the bottom of the stairs, and he fell over it, losing his glasses. While the burglar was looking for them, Paul tried to free himself. Finally Paul managed to escape and he phoned the police. As soon as the burglar had found his glasses he ran out of the house. However, unfortunately for him, the police were waiting for him at the end of the garden.

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form. Where possible, use 'used to' and 'would'.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth. The family moved to London in 1823. When he was twelve he worked in a blacking factory. He worked by a window facing the street and passersby used to pause and watch him at work. Everyday he would trudge through the London streets from Camden Town to Southwark. His family was very poor. His mother hoped to open a small school. While she was trying to do this, her husband was sent to prison for being £40 in debt. When Charles was twenty-four, his first work, sketches by Boz, was published. This was followed by Pickwick Papers with which he would achieve / achieved financial security and popularity. For the rest of his life, work simply poured from his pen. He died of a stroke in 1870.

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form. Where both the past simple and past perfect simple are possible, write 'BOTH'.

1. Until I had explained the situation to her I felt guilty.

2. After I ____________ (finish) my lunch I went back to work. BOTH

3. When the police had interviewed me they let me go home.

4. As soon as I got home my brother went out.

5. The children had to stay in until the rain had stopped

6. When I saw John coming towards me I walked in the other direction.

7. I phoned my mother to find out why she hadn't written for so long.

8. We stayed in our seats until the film ____________ (finish). BOTH

Continue the following sentences using the words in bracket in either the past perfect simple or continuous.

1. My landlord threw me out of my flat because (not pay the rent for six months / and break all the windows)

hadn't paid the rent for six months and had broken all the windows.

2. When I eventually got to the meeting I was bad tempered and exhausted! I (sit in traffic jam 45 minutes / motorist bump into me / and get completely lost)

I'd been sitting in a traffic jam for 45 minutes, a motorist had bumped into me and I had got completely lost

3. By the time 5 o'clock arrived Brenda was furious. She (wait for an hour / drink six cups of tea / and they still not arrive)

she'd been waiting for an hour, had drunk six cups of tea and they still hadn't arrived.

4. I was so depressed that I couldn't do the exam. I (study every day for two months / and give up see my friends)

I'd studied every day for two months and had given up seeing my friends.

Put the verb in brackets in an appropriate form of the future in the past.

1. "Henry! Good Lord! I forgot that you were coming to dinner. I'm sorry, come in."

2. The police were going to charge me with speeding, but I told them that I'd never driven a car.

3. The beginning of the film was terrible. I hoped it would get better).

4. I went to bed early as I was leaving for Rio the next day.

5. Tom was sensible and his mother knew he would take care of himself.

6. "You were going to show me your holiday photos but we were interrupted."

7. "Our last holiday was a disaster. We were going to travel to Austria, but I broke my leg."

8. I was just going to ring the receptionist about the tv when an engineer arrived to fix it.

9. I had invited them to come to the party at 9 o'clock, but I knew they would be late.

10. "Last time I saw you, you were going to emigrate to Canada! Did you?"