Exercise - Mixed Tenses B1 - B2 (3)

Catherine has just arrived back home. She has been to Cambridge.

Compare has been and has gone:

Has been indicates that someone has visited a place and returned.

Has gone indicates that someone has visited a place (and has not returned yet).

The population of the city is increasing at 3% each year.

Use the present progressive, not the simple present, to describe changes and developments (even if they are long-term developments).

The prime minister is to arrive in Washington on Friday.

Am/is/are to + infinitive is used to talk about official and formal events in the future. The present progressive is used as a future tense only for fixed personal plans.

Alexander the Great crossed the Hellespont with a large army in 334 BC.

The past perfect is only used to express an activity that took place before another action described in the past.

They have been extremely happy since their baby was born.

When since is used as a conjunction to introduce a temporal clause, the subordinate clause is in the simple past if the action has been completed (the baby was born). The subordinate clause is in the present perfect if the situation continues up to the present (e.g. since they have owned a car).

She was driving home when the fox ran across the road.

An ongoing action in the past that is interrupted by a shorter action (ran across the road) → past progressive

I don´t think that the officer will change his mind.

We use the future simple for predictions based on our personal opinion or belief.

It was a cold night. It had been snowing for hours.

For an action or situation that took place before another action or situation in the past (it was a cold night), we use the past perfect, not the present perfect. As a rule, the past perfect progressive (had been snowing), not the past perfect simple (had snowed), is used for actions that continued up to a point in the past – particularly when the duration of the action is emphasised.

They have painted the walls, so the room looks much better now.

An action in the past with direct consequences for the present → present perfect

The children appear to be happy at the moment.

Appear, meaning to seem, is a state verb and cannot be used in a progressive tense. (When used to mean to perform (in theatre or on stage), appear can be used in a progressive tense.)

The ruling party won the election last Sunday.

A completed action in the past with a past time reference (last Sunday) → simple past

Travis was still sleeping while we were having breakfast.

Two unfinished actions in the past that took place at the same time → past progressive