Guide for Mixed Tense Exercises

Part 1: The Basics

Learning the basics of forming a verb tense is usually easy, and so is using that tense
by itself. However, when the tenses are mixed together in grammar or writing, there can be a
lot of confusion.

Here are some tips to remember:

1. Look for the use of time words. A chart is given below.

2. Remember the purpose(s) of each tense.

3. Look at the context. There may not be any time words in the sentence, but the
surrounding sentences will give a clue as to what should come next.

Tense Time words Examples

Simple Every day, month, week, year; George jogs three miles every day.
present always; sometimes; never; Mary always has salad for lunch.
frequently I sometimes go to New York City.
Simple past Yesterday; # years, weeks, months, Tom went to Los Angeles yesterday.
days, hours ago; in (past year); last Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris in
(month, week, year) 1927.
Simple future Tomorrow; in (future year, month, Mary will go to Hawaii in two
week); on (future day); next weeks.
(month, week, year, name of day); Ed will drive to Toronto next
# days, months, weeks, years from Saturday.
now; this month, week, afternoon, George will paint his house six days
year; someday from now.
Present Now; right now; at this moment You are reading sentences about
Progressive verb tenses right now.
Many students are taking calculus
this semester.
Future At this time tomorrow At this time tomorrow, I will be
progressive cleaning my house.
 Present For; since; yet; never; always; so Sam has visited Hawaii many times.
Perfect far; # times; many times; lately; Paul has been here for six hours.
recently; already Yoko has known Mary since 1994.
I have already written a letter to the
president.
Present For; since; lately; recently Rita has been jogging for two hours.
perfect
progressive

Part 2: Time Clauses

Some verb tenses often work with time clauses.

Sentences with time clauses have two parts:

1. The clause with the time word

2. The main clause

Remember the following tips:

 The part with the time word is always dependent.

 Most time words work with more than one tense.

 In the present, past, and future perfect progressive tenses, for is not always necessary, but it is
frequently used.

 *Before and after do not require the use of the past perfect, but it is possible.

Time Clause Patterns

Time word Time clause Main clause tense Examples
tense
While Past Simple past (short While Anna was sleeping, a plane flew
progressive action) over her house.

Past progressive While George was frying fish, Rita was

(action at same time) peeling potatoes.
Present Future While Anna is working tomorrow, her
progressive progressive sister will be painting the living room.
Before Simple present Simple future Before Karen leaves for work, she will
roller-skate around her house three
times.
Simple past Simple past or past Before Karen left for work, she (had)
perfect* roller-skated around her house three
times.
After Simple present Simple future After Karen takes her motorcycle to the
mechanic, he will take a look at it.
Simple past or Simple past After Karen took [had taken] her
past perfect* motorcycle to the mechanic, she drove
to work in a rented car.
When Simple present Simple future When John finishes this semester, he will
take a trip to France.
Simple past Simple past When the sun rose, John got up.
Past progressive When the pizza arrived, John was
checking his e-mail.
Past perfect When John’s friend came to pick him up,
he had already checked his answering
machine for messages.
Past perfect When John got home, his brother had
progressive been surfing the web for five hours.
Until Simple Simple future Until Mary finishes her scuba-diving
present course, she won’t take the advanced
diving class.
Simple past Past perfect Until Mary lost $50,000 in Las Vegas, she
hadn’t realized that she had a gambling
problem.

As soon as Simple present Simple future As soon as I get home, I will take a nap.
Simple past Simple past As soon as I got home, I took a nap.
Whenever Simple present Simple present Whenever Sam goes to Canada, he
always visits Niagara Falls.
The first Simple past Simple past The first time that Ingrid visited New
time York, she went to the Empire State
Building.
 The last Simple past Simple past The last time that Nancy played hockey,
time she scored three goals.
The next Simple present Simple future The next time I buy new sneakers, I will
time walk around in them first.

By the Simple present Future perfect By the time the plane arrives, we will
time have completed the crossword puzzle.
Simple past Past perfect By the time John finished his essay, most
of the class had left.
Since Simple past Present perfect Tom has been unhappy since his team
(time) lost the championship.

Theresa’s Day

Today is Saturday. Theresa had been sleeping for eight hours when the doorbell rang. She
got up to answer the door, but no one was there. The sound of the doorbell had also woken up
Maria, Theresa’s roommate. Because neither of them could go back to sleep, they decided to have
breakfast. While Theresa was making breakfast, Maria was taking a shower. While they were eating
their breakfast, they heard a loud crash from outside. They ran to the window and looked outside.
Their friend, Tom, had been skateboarding, but he had lost control of his skateboard and crashed
into the garbage cans. Theresa and Maria ran outside to see how Tom was. He had a few scrapes
and bruises, and he was wearing a banana peel and broken eggshells on his head. Theresa and Maria
gave him some antiseptic and bandages. They wanted him to go to the nurse, but he said he was all
right.

After that, Theresa and Maria went back inside, finished their breakfast and watched a tape.
Now it is 12:00, and Theresa is eating lunch. She is eating a salad. Lately, she has been trying to
eat more leafy green vegetables. Everyone tells her this will make her healthier, but it’s not easy
for her because it’s hard to for her to find leafy green vegetables that she likes. She will be doing
many things this afternoon and evening. At 1:30, she will go to the swimming pool and swim some
laps. She practices swimming four times a week because she is on the swim team. She has been on
the swim team for two years. When she finishes swimming, she will take a shower and get ready for
her evening. First, she will eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Next, she plans to watch Citizen Kane
with Maria, Tom, and Ed, Tom’s brother. By the time the movie ends, they will have seen it sixteen
times. After the movie, they will go to a local dance club. By midnight, they will have been dancing
for three hours. At 3 a.m., Theresa and Maria will come home and go to sleep. Tomorrow will be less
busy.

Theresa’s Day
Time Main and non-time clause(s) Time clause
12:00 a.m.-11:59 Today is Saturday.
p.m.
1 a.m-9 a.m. Theresa had been sleeping for eight hours.
9 a.m. (When) the doorbell rang.
9:01 a.m. Theresa got out of bed to answer the door,
but there was no one there.
9:15 a.m-9: 30 She was making breakfast (While) her roommate was
a.m. taking a shower.
9:31 a.m.-9: 45 (While) they were eating
a.m. their breakfast
9:45 a.m. They heard a loud crash from outside.
Before 9:45 a.m. Their friend, Tom, had been skateboarding
9:45 a.m. (But) he had lost control of his skateboard
and crashed into the garbage cans.
[Link] a.m. They ran to the window and looked outside.
[Link] a.m. Theresa and Maria ran outside to see how
Tom was.
9:47 a.m. He had a few scrapes and bruises, and he was
wearing a banana peel and broken eggshells
on his head.
9:50 a.m. Theresa and Maria gave him some antiseptic
and bandages.
9:55 a.m. They wanted him to go to the nurse, but he
said he was all right.
10:00-11:59 After that, Theresa and Maria went back
inside, finished their breakfast, and watched
a tape.
12 p.m. Theresa is eating lunch.
She is eating a salad.
Before now and Lately, she has been trying to eat more leafy
up to the present green vegetables.
moment
General truth with Everyone tells her this will make her
a future healthier, but it’s not easy for her because
prediction it’s hard for her to find leafy green
vegetables that she likes.
1 p.m. – 12 a.m. She will be doing many things this afternoon
and evening.
1:30 p.m. At 1:30, she will go to the swimming pool and
swim some laps.
Habit She practices swimming four times a week
because she is on the swim team.
Situation that She has been on the swim team for two
began in the past years.
and continues to
the present
moment
3:00-4:30 p.m. She will take a shower and get ready for her (when) she finishes
evening swimming
6:00 p.m. She will eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
7:00-8:30 She plans to watch Citizen Kane with Maria,
Tom, and Ed, Tom’s brother.
They will have seen the movie sixteen times (by the time) it ends.
9:00 They will go to a local dance club.
12 a.m. By midnight, they will have been dancing for
three hours.
3 a.m. Theresa and Maria will come home and go to
sleep.
Tomorrow Tomorrow will be less busy.