Verb Tenses
PAGANINI
Put the verbs in brackets into correct tense form.
Every day in one of the streets of Vienna you (1)_______ (can)
(2)_______ (to see) a blind (слепой) man. He usually (3)______ (to stand) at
the corner of the street and (4)______ (to play) the violin. His dog (5)______ (to sit)
near him with a cap in his mouth.
One day the famous composer and musician Paganini (6)_______ (to see)
the man. He (7)______ (to see) that when people (8)______(to pass) him they (9)______ (to
put) some money into the cap. But that day very few people (10)______ (to give) the blind
man anything. He even (11)______ (to think) that he (12)______ (to have) no supper that
evening. The blind man (13)______ (to stop) playing. Paganini (14)_______ (to come) up to
the man and (15)_______ (to ask) him: “Why you just (16)_______ (to stop) playing?”
“I (17)________ (to be) very tired,” – the man (18)_______ (to answer). “I already
(19)_______ (to play) a lot of music, but nobody (20)_______ (to give) me money”, –
(21)_______ (to say) the blind man. “I (22)_______ (to help) you if you (23)_______ (to
give) me your violin”, – Paganini (24)________ (to tell) the man. And with these words
he (25)_______ (to begin) to play. While he (26)_______ (to play), more and more people
(27)_______ (to gather) around him. The blind man (28)________ (to hear) that the coins
(29)_______ (to fall) into his cap. He was happy. He never (30)_______ (to have) so much
money before. He (31)_______ (to think): “If he (32)_______ (to play) an hour longer I
(33)_______ (not to have) to work for two or three days!” The people who (34)_______ (to
listen) to Paganini, said to each other: “How beautiful he (35)_______ (to play)!”
Soon the cap (36)_______ (to be) full of money. The blind man (37)_______ (not to know)
how to thank the musician. He (38)_______ (to be) very glad. He never (39)_______ (to
meet) such a wonderful man before.
Keys: 1. could; 2. see; 3. stood; 4. played; 5. was sitting/sat;
6. saw; 7. saw; 8. were passing/passed; 9. were putting/put; 10. gave/were giving; 11.
thought; 12. would have; 13. stopped; 14. came; 15. asked; 16. have just stopped; 17. am;
18. answered; 19. have played; 20. has given; 21. said; 22. shall help; 23. give; 24.
told; 25. began; 26. was playing; 27. were gathering/gathered; 28. heard; 29.
falling/fall; 30. had never had; 31. thought 32. plays/could play; 33. shall not have; 34.
were listening/listened; 35. is playing/plays; 36. was; 37. did not know; 38. was; 39. had
never met
CAMELS AND MERCHANTS
Put the verbs in brackets into correct tense form.
Once two merchants (1)________ (to lose) one of their camels in
the desert. The camel (2)________ (to have) corn, honey and their bag of gold. They
(3)________ (to look for) the camel for two hours when suddenly they (4)________ (to see)
an old man. The man, who (5)________ (to spend) all his life in the desert, (6)________
(to notice) the merchants, too, and (7)________ (to say): “What you (8)________ (to
look) for?” “We just (9)________ (to lose) our best camel. We (10)________ (to look
for) it for two hours already, but we (11)________ (not to find) it yet. If you
(12)________ (to help) us, we (13)________ (to be) grateful to you,” – they
(14)________ (to answer).
“Your camel (15)________ (to have) one eye and it (16)________ (to
be) lame in his left leg. He (17)________ (to have) some honey on one side and corn on the
other” – the old man (18)________ (to exclaim). “When you (19)________ (to see) our
camel?” – they (20)________ (to shout). “I never (21)________ (to see) your
camel,” – the old man (22)_________ (to explain). “But where (23)________ (to be)
our bag of gold?” – the merchants (24)________ (to ask). They (25)________ (to take)
the man before the judge. The old man (26)_________ (to address) the judge: “My life in
the desert (27)________ (to teach) me to notice important things. So, I (28)________ (can)
(29)___________ (to describe) animals according to their footprints” – the old man
(30)________ (to state). “So, when I (31)________ (to see) the camel’s footprints I
(32)________ (to know) at once that he (33)_______ (to run) away from his owners.”
The judge (34)________ (to let) the old man go and (35)________ (to
say) to the merchants: “This (36)________ (to be) the only person who (37)__________ (to
help) you to find the lost camel if you (38)____________ (to apologize) to him.”
merchants купцы
Keys: 1. lost; 2. had; 3. had been looking; 4. saw; 5. had
spent; 6. noticed; 7. said; 8. are you looking; 9. have just lost; 10. have been looking;
11. have not found; 12. help/will help; 13. shall be grateful; 14. answered; 15. had/has;
16. is/was; 17. had; 18. exclaimed; 19. did you see; 20. shouted; 21. have never seen; 22.
explained; 23. is; 24. asked; 25. took; 26. addressed; 27. has taught; 28. can; 29.
describe; 30. stated; 31. saw; 32. knew; 33. had run; 34. let; 35. said; 36. is; 37. will
help/could help; 38. apologize/would apologize
By Julia Borzova, Nina Kondrakova,
School No. 1208, Moscow
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