Chapter 2 Exercises

Randal Thiessen

Exercise Book

Chapter 2 Exercises

I. Introduction and Overview

Choose whether the sentences with the perfect tense are used for time or for cause and effect. Put ‘t’ for time and ‘ce’ for cause/effect. For some questions both answers may be correct.

Mary has owned this car for three years. I like it.
They have owned this car for 15 years. Maybe it is time for a new one.
She had hiked this trail many times in her life, but she still got lost.
They have called ten times since this morning.
They have called ten times since this morning. I wish they would stop calling me.
By tonight, I will have finished my research paper.
I have worked on my research paper for three weeks.
I have worked on his research paper for three hours. I need a break.

2.0 How to Write the Perfect Tense

Write the Perfect Tense in the Present of the following verbs. Some are regular verbs, and some are irregular verbs.
1. go:
2. sleep:
3. walk:
4. call:
5. appear:
1. have:
2. tell:
3. write:
4. contact:
5. analyze:
Now write the Perfect Tense Verbs in the Past.
1. go:
2. sleep:
3. walk:
4. call:
5. appear:
1. have:
2. tell:
3. write:
4. contact:
5. analyze:
Write these verbs in the Future Perfect Tense.
1. go:
2. sleep:
3. walk:
4. call:
5. appear:
1. have:
2. tell:
3. write:
4. contact:
5. analyze:

II. Using the Perfect Tense for Time

2.0 Past, Present and Future Perfect Tenses

Underline all of the past, present and future perfect verbs in the following paragraphs.

Elif had just finished her internship at the Biotechnicorp Lab in Surrey, UK. She had learned many new things. She had scanned the chromosomes of fifty people, looking for signs of a genetic disorder which causes a blood disorder. She had also worked with a couple of well-known researchers who had discovered a new way to treat a certain kind of cancer.

Overall, it has been a good experience for her. She has enjoyed working on with a team of brilliant and dedicated scientists who are working to treat troubling diseases. She has felt pride in her work and has found that this is truly at career that she can dedicate herself to.

Elif imagines herself in her career ten years from now. She wonders if she will have discovered something which could help treat cancer or maybe cure some other disease. She thinks about all the people for whom she will have improved their quality of life. She also thinks of all the wonderful people whom she will have worked with.
Put the correct form of the Perfect Tense in the blank before the verb. Use past, present and future perfect forms.

Past Perfect

When Melanie moved out of her parent’s home and into her own apartment, she (1)                                          (live) with them as an adult for eight years. She was happy to move out on her own, and she was excited about living with Lisa, who (2)                                          (be) her friend since before they (3)                                          (meet) in university. Before this, Lisa (4)                                          (work) at her father’s company as a marketer for 5 years, and she (5)                                          (increase) sales by 35% in one year. But this was soon about to change.

Present Perfect

He (6)                                          (decide) to finally go ice skating. It seems a bit scary because he (7)                                          (have, never) good balance. Although all of his friends can skate, he (8)                                          (avoid, always) it. Whenever they (9)                                          (ask) him to go skating with them. He (10)                                          (say, always) that he is too busy to go.

Future Perfect

Looking into the future, unless the human population (11)                                          (change) their consumption patterns, there will be terrible effects of climate change. By the later part of this century, the global temperature (12)                                          (rise) by up to 2^o. At that time, we (13)                                          (experience) natural disasters, and increase in extreme weather, and global food insecurity. Climate change will (14)                                          (cause) conflict over water and food resources. This even (15)                                          (result) in some wars.

3.0 Using Time Words and Phrases with the Perfect Tense

Write ‘for’ (for total time), ‘since’ (for starting time), or ‘by’ (for until this time) in the blank.

Present
1. He has worked at the clinic five years.
2. She has lived in that house 1982.
3. Jon has not cleaned his room three weeks.
4. Lily has worked on this project Tuesday of last week.
5. They have been to ten different counties the time that they got married.
Past
1. She had already finished reading five chapters this last Wednesday.
2. They had not eaten five hours when their flight finally arrived.
3. Pablo had not slept two days, before his job interview. So, he was tired.
4. Mahmud had seen his family four years when he finally returned to his country.
5. He had not eaten the night before.
Future
1. He will have driven ten hours by the time he arrives in Seattle.
2. I will have completed answering all of my email 10 o’clock tonight.
3. She will have worked thirty years when she retires next year.
4. By next year, they will have been friends ten years.
*Note: In the future, since is not used because no matter how long the action lasts, the starting point is the same.
Using the Past Perfect Tense, write about three things you did in the past (that you are no longer doing). Be sure to identify when you stopped doing them. For how long did you do them?
Example: When I finally finished my project last week (when I stopped doing it), I had worked on it for two weeks.
Using the Present Perfect Tense, write about three things that you have completed recently or have just completed. For how long have you done them to this point in the present?
Example: I have worked on my resume for four days.
Using the Future Perfect Tense, write about three things that you will complete in the future. Maybe you have already started them, but they will be complete in the future. How much time, work or effort do you think it will take you to complete them?
Example: By this time next year, I will have owned my car for four years and will have driven it for about 150,000 kilometers.

4.0 Other Adverbs Used with the Perfect Tense

Write the appropriate time word in the blanks below. The verb may be in the past, present, or future.
1. Has she arrived ? She was supposed to be here at 3 o’clock.
2. I have finished my research paper and now I’m going to hand it in.
3. Have you gone skydiving?
4. No, I have even been in an airplane. I’m afraid of heights.
5. I haven’t finished it . Can you give me another two hours?
6. Emily had left home when it began to rain. Luckily, she could easily go back and get her umbrella.
7. , the project has gone well. We should be finished it within a few days.
Match the verb from the list below each with the sentences that it goes with it in the blanks below (the best context). Then, write the correct form of the verb in the blank of the sentence with the matching context.

Past: see, live, work, finish
1. He for five years as a bookkeeper when he finally got a job as an accountant.
2. They watching TV when their friend showed up.
3. Carlos 40 movies by the time he was 10 years old.
4. John in London for 20 years when he finally moved back to the country where he was born.
Present: own, practice, eat, study
1. Julia sashimi. She is afraid to try it.
2. Jackson three cars since he was in high school.
3. They are graduating the spring. On average, they music at the academy over ten years.
4. I started practicing serving tennis balls at 3:00 p.m., so I for two hours.
Future: fix, complete, travel
1. When Mustafa finally finishes fixing his car, he the motor, the transmission and the front bumper.
2. When Julia graduates, she the requirements for a major in science and a minor in both math and engineering.
3. Jakub to five different countries after he comes back from his last trip to Morocco.
In this exercise, examine how the Perfect Tense is used for the past, present and future. Reading this should help your brain to connect the abstract ideas of the perfect tense with how you could use it in real life.

After reading the article, discuss the two connecting points which are used for the perfect tense. When did an action or actions begin and when did they end? Remember that, for the perfect tense, connects two points, a time or action in the past with the time of speaking which comes after that. In the present perfect, the end point in time is assumed to be the present.

Playing the Double Bass! Jane Little—An Inspiration

I play the double bass. You know, the violin that is big as a person and has a very ‘deep’ voice. It’s called the double bass because it plays the same notes as the cello, only an octave lower. So, it ‘doubles’ the cello.

I started to play the double base in high school because my father had given [past perfect] it to me as a gift. I played it for a while but then got busy with other things in life, and I quit. Then, I started playing it again as an adult. Here is my story.

Past

When I finally quit playing [this is the later time marker] the double bass, I had played the double bass for about 5 years. I had started to play the bass in high school. Then, I went to college, and I continued to play the bass. Even though I had never played in an orchestra before [from the time I was born], and I was no longer a youth, I joined the local youth orchestra. By the time I had graduated from college, I had played in the youth orchestra for three years [total time].

Soon, however, I got busy with my chosen career, and I quit playing the bass. Then, one day, I remembered my days of playing the bass, and I thought, “I should start playing again.” So, I found a local community orchestra and started to play with them.

Present (with some past)

Today, I am still playing with this community orchestra. At this point in time, I have played with the orchestra for about five years now. Since starting to play the bass again, it has always been challenging. I have taken lessons and have learned many new things. I have played with some very good musicians and (have) made many new friends. By the end of the last season, I had played eight of Beethoven’s major symphonies and other works.

I don’t know how long I will continue to play the double bass. It is a difficult instrument to play, and it is hard on the body. By the time I am old, I don’t know how long I will have played for. My body will have been beaten up by the bass. I will have probably developed back problems and neck problems. However, what gives me hope is that I do know of one woman, Jane Little, who started playing the double bass with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in 1945 at the age of 16. She actually died while playing a concert with the orchestra at the age of 87. When she died, she had played with the orchestra for 71 years. They said that she literally died doing what she loved. I hope that someday I will have played for as long as she did.

Questions for writing practice:

Past
1. How long had the writer been playing the double bass when he/she quit (after playing in a professional orchestra)?
2. The youth Orchestra which the writer played for in the past asked the writer to play the double bass with them even though the writer had not done something yet. What had the right or not done?
3. For how long have the writer not played the bass when he began to play it again?
Present
1. For how long has the rider been playing the bass after starting to play again?
2. Since starting to play the bass again, what has the writer’s experience been like? What are some things that the write has experienced or done?
Future
1. What will have happened to the writer’s body by the time he/she gets old?
2. For how long had Jane Little been playing double bass with the Atlantic Symphony when she died?
Using the Past Perfect Tense, write about three things you did in the past (that you are no longer doing). Be sure to identify when you stopped doing them? For how long did you do them?
Example: When I finally finished my project last week (when I stopped doing it), I had worked on it for two weeks.
Using the Present Perfect Tense write about three things that you have completed recently or have just completed. For how long have you done them to this point in the present?
Example: I have worked on my resume for four days.
Using the Future Perfect Tense, write about three things that you will complete in the future. Maybe you have already started them, but they will be complete in the future. How much time, work or effort do you think it will take you to complete them?
Example: By this time next year, I will have owned my car for four years and will have driven it for about 150,000 kilometers.

III. The Perfect Continuous Tense

Write the Present Perfect Continuous forms of the following verbs:
1. drive:
2. worry:
3. focus on:
4. start:
5. fly:
1. look:
2. feel:
3. drop:
4. build:
5. tear:
Now write the Perfect Tense Verbs in the Past:
1. drive:
2. worry:
3. focus on:
4. start:
5. fly:
1. look:
2. feel:
3. drop:
4. build:
5. tear:
Write these verbs in the Future Perfect Tenses:
1. drive:
2. worry:
3. focus on:
4. start:
5. fly:
1. look:
2. feel:
3. drop:
4. build:
5. tear:
Underline the verbs in the Perfect Tense and double underline the verbs in the Perfect Continuous Tense. Note: There are some regular Perfect Tense Verbs.

Mitsuka had left to his university class early in the morning. There had been a typhoon the day before, and it had rained heavily all night. But by the morning, the rain had stopped and Mitsuka left home and took the bus to the subway train station to go to his classes. But it took an unusually long time to get to the train station. The traffic was terrible. Then, when the bus crossed the bridge right before the train station, he saw that the water in the river had risen unusually high. Luckily, the dykes on each side of the river had stopped the water from flowing into the area around it.

But when Mitsuka got to the station, he found out that the rain had flooded the subway and the trains were not running. But rather than taking the bus, which had taken one hour to reach the train station from his home, he decided to walk instead. He crossed the bridge and started to walk along the road to his home. He had been walking along the road, but he had not been looking at the river behind him.

Then, he looked back and noticed that water had started to come over the sides of the dykes. It had been starting to flow across the road in front of him. A man had been trying to cross the water on his motorcycle, but the fast flowing water swept his motorcycle away from him. Then Mitsuka decided that he had to get out of the area as fast as possible. He had been walking across the road, but he quickly decided to go towards a big hill to the west of him. Finally, he got there, and he was happy to be safe.

V. Action and Time in the Perfect Continuous Tenses: Past, Present and Future

4.0 Perfect Continuous Tense

Choose the word from the following list that matches the context of the sentences below. Then, make sure you use the proper form of the verb to write the Present, Past and Future Perfect Continuous Tenses in the following sentences.

Present Word List: work, travel, edit, live, clean (not)

He at the clinic for five years, and he will probably continue to work there for at least two more years.
She in that house since 1982 (she is not planning to move).
Jon his room lately. It is so messy. I wonder when he will clean it.
Lily her writing since Tuesday of last week, but she should be done soon.

Past Word List: travel, eat (not), read, call (not), sleep

She constantly for three weeks, and her vision was getting blurry.
They on their flight from Austria when the Steward finally brought them a meal.
Pablo for days because he was nervous about his job interview. So, he was tired when he did the interview.
Mahmud was working in a different city, but he his family lately because his work is so busy.
They all over the world before they got married. Then they had two children, and they were too busy to travel.

Future Word List: work drive, spend, send

He for ten hours by the time he arrives in Seattle.
Because Pablo keeps sending me so many voice messages, I so much time answering them that I don’t have time to do my work.
She for thirty years by the time she retires next year.
By next year, they letters to each other as friends for ten years.

VI. Perfect Continuous Tense: In-Depth Comparison with Other Tenses

4.0 Two Ways of Expressing Time and Action: Point in Time vs Period of Time

In this exercise, examine how the Perfect Tense and the Perfect Continuous Tense are used in the past, present and future. Reading this should help your brain to connect the abstract ideas of the perfect tense with how you could use it in real life. First, underline the verbs in the Perfect Tense and put the verbs in the Perfect Continuous Tense /between slashes/.

After reading the article, discuss the two connecting points which are used for the perfect tense. When did an action or actions begin and when did they end? Remember that the perfect tense connects two points, a time or action in the past with the time of speaking which comes after that. In the present perfect, the end point in time is assumed to be the present.

The world has been changing rapidly because of technology. It seems like the pace of change keeps increasing and increasing. It has been increasing exponentially. For example, from the time that personal computers were first invented until now, computers have been getting faster and faster and they have been getting more and more powerful.

In the past, machines started to do the work of humans, but more and more, robots have been doing the work that people have done before. But, to this point, this has been physical work. Now, professional jobs that require thinking and creativity are also being eliminated, and they are being done by machines—computers.

Transportation has also been changing. Since the time that gasoline cars have driven down our roads, they have become more and more sophisticated. They have become more and more complex. But they are being replaced by other types of transportation. Trains have also been changing to the point where now they have been travelling on magnets or in tubes at speeds at which only airplanes could fly in the past.

All of this has made people afraid of the New World. They will soon be in a place where their jobs will have disappeared.
Using the Perfect Continuous Tense, write three sentences on the following topics:
1. What are three things that have been happening in the world recently that are likely to continue for a while (but with time limits—not forever)?
2. What are three things that you have been doing recently? Use the Perfect Continuous Tense to write your sentences.
Choose the Perfect Tense or the Perfect Continuous Tense in the paragraph below. Then, write the correct verb form in the blanks in front of the verb that is in parenthesis. The tenses could be in the Past, Present, or Future.

Sakarno (1) (have) a hard time lately, and he doesn’t know when it will end. Everything (2) (go) wrong. First, he (3) (have) a number of problems with his car. His engine (4) (make) funny noises, and he (5) (have) problems with his brakes. His air conditioning (6) (quit), and it is very hot outside. His radio (7) (have, also) working, and he loves to listen to music. Before the radio broke, he (8) (listen) to slow soothing music, because it helped him to relax. But now, he doesn’t have a way to calm down after work, so this (9) (be) difficult for him. His stress level (10) (rise), so he can’t get to sleep at night. He (11) (be) tired at work for the last week. He (12) (do, not) a good job either, so his boss (13) (be, not) happy with him. He (14) (get along, never) well with his boss, and now it’s even worse. He (15) (think) a lot about quitting lately. He imagines that someday he (16) (have) enough, and he’s worried that he will suddenly just quit. But then, he remembers that he (17) (have) trouble paying his bills, too, so if he quit, it would be another disaster.

VII. Cause-Effect

1.0 Cause/Effect Relationship

Choose whether the following Perfect Tense verbs have a Single Cause (write ‘s’ in the blank), a Single Repeating Cause (write ‘sr’) or a Cumulative Cause (write ‘c’).
1. I have broken my phone, and I missed an important call.
2. Joji had been late so many times that his boss is considering dismissing him.
3. Why has she not called yet? I am beginning to be worried.
4. The world has emitted so much carbon that the climate is changing rapidly.
5. Climate change is happening exponentially because snow cover has decreased by 30% in the North. Snow reflects heat and slows climate change.
6. I had forgotten about my assignment that was due, so it was late. The instructor reduced my grade by 15%.
7. Every month, I have put $100 in my savings account. By the end of the year, I had enough money to buy a new cell phone.

Match the possible effects of the initial action in the Perfect Tense.

Cause

(1) Yasmin has not eaten breakfast.

(2) An increase in administrative costs has impacted the net profit of many companies.

(3) Conflict at work has had negative effects on everyone.

(4) Stock prices for technology have increased over the last five years.

(5) Her friends have planned a birthday party for her.

(6) Inflation has risen by 15%.

(7) Chiara is going to work but has forgotten her wallet.

Effect

(a) Revenue was up by 23% this year, defying expectations.

(b) She is very hungry.

(c) They are busy getting everything ready.

(d) People are having trouble affording food.

(e) She doesn’t have money for the bus fare.

(f) Sick leave has increased by 10%.

(g) Many companies are struggling.

After you have matched the causes and effects above, make sentences by combining the clauses for both cause and effect. Use connecting words to create subordinating clauses of cause and effect. Be careful to use the correct conjunction, which can either be a conjunction for ‘cause’ and a conjunction for ‘effect’. They can be either coordinating conjunctions or subordinating conjunctions. You could also leave them as independent clauses using adverbs, transitions or conjunctive adverbs (examples: so, therefore, as a result, however, although).

Examples:
- I have been working hard on creating this accounting app, so I should finish this week. (coordinating conjunction)
- Because I have been working hard on creating this accounting app, I should finish this week. (subordinating conjunction)
- I have had some trouble with creating this accounting app. However, I should finish this week. (conjunctive adverb)

2.0 Perfect Tenses for Cause and Effect

Match the clauses on the left with the effects on the right.
Example: 100 – z

(100) I have been studying a lot lately.
(z) I think that I can get an ‘A’ average this year.

Cause

(1) She has been learning to play the guitar

(2) Jasmin has been getting sick a lot lately

(3) Our company has been increasing sales

(4) My sister has been looking for a new job

(5) We have been traveling for 10 hours

(6) My mother has been calling me every day

(7) I have been running 3 miles every day.

Effect

(a) revenue is up by 15%.

(b) I hope to do three miles in thirty minutes soon.

(c) if this keeps up, it will drive me crazy.

(d) she hopes to be a singer-songwriter.

(e) we should be in Barcelona soon.

(f) she is missing a lot of work.

(g) she should be able to get something soon. There is a big need for accountants now.

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English Grammar for Academic Purposes Copyright © 2025 by Randal Thiessen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.