Put the verbs in brackets into present, past, or future simple tense. Mr and Mrs Gray live in a big city, and they (1. have) a son. His name (2. be) Pete. Pete (3. not like) (4. wash). One day Mrs Gray said, "I (5. like) (6. live) in the country with Pete next summer." So they (7. find) a small house in the country and (8. take) Pete there for a vacation. When they (9. arrive) at the house, Mrs Gray said to Pete, "We (10. stay) here for two weeks." The boy (11. run) into the house and (12. fall) down on the floor. He (13. hurt) his leg but (14. run) further (15. look) in the rooms. When he (16. come) back, he (17. throw) his ball up and (18. cry), "Mum! I (19. can, not) (20. see) a bath. Where (21. be) it?" "This (22. be) a very small house," his mother answered. "There (23. be) no baths here." Pete (24. get) really happy. "This (25. be) a very nice holiday indeed, Mum," he said.

To correctly fill in the blanks with the appropriate tense, let's look at each verb form based on the context of the sentences:

Mr and Mrs Gray live in a big city, and they (have) a son.

Present Simple: "have"


His name (be) Pete.

Present Simple: "is"


Pete (not like) (wash) .

Present Simple (negative): "does not like" + "to wash"
The negative form doesn't impact the main verb.


One day Mrs Gray said, "I (like) (live) in the country with Pete next summer."

Future Simple: "will like" + "to live"
Here, it indicates her future action/plans.


So they (find) a small house in the country.

Past Simple: "found"


And (take) Pete there for a vacation.

Past Simple: "took"


When they (arrive) at the house, Mrs Gray said to Pete,

Past Simple: "arrived"


"We (stay) here for two weeks."

Future Simple: "will stay"


The boy (run) into the house and (fall) down on the floor.

Past Simple: "ran" and "fell"


He (hurt) his leg but (run) further (look) in the rooms.


* Past Simple: "hurt" + "ran" + "to look"


When he (come) back, he (throw) his ball up and (cry) ,

* Past Simple: "came" + "threw" + "cried"


"Mum! I (can, not) (see) a bath. Where (be) it?"

* Present Simple (negative): "cannot see"
* Present Simple: "is"


"This (be) a very small house," his mother answered.

* Present Simple: "is"


"There (be) no baths here."

* Present Simple: "are"


Pete (get) really happy.

* Past Simple: "got"


"This (be) a very nice holiday indeed, Mum," he said.

* Present Simple: "is"

The task required understanding the timing (present, past, or future) of each event described in the narrative, which involved changing the verbs accordingly. By recognizing cues around the sentences, such as time markers and reported speech, we convert these verbs to their correct tense forms.

Answered by ElijahBenjaminCarter | 2025-07-21