T078 - Letter to Ellen - Present Perfect and Past Tense

Gap-fill exercise

Put in the correct forms: Present Perfect or Past Tense


Dear Ellen !

I hope things are OK with you. The doctor  (come) yesterday. He  (not like) my cough. I  (lie) in bed looking at the ceiling since Tuesday, and I can tell you, I’m fed up with it. I  (never be) ill like this before - don’t know what’s happening to me. And the weather’s terrible. It  (rain) all day and I can’t even have a cup of tea in the morning to cheer myself up, because the milkman  (not come) this morning. Don’t know why - I’m sure I  (pay) his bill.


Alice  (get) married last week, so now all Mary’s kids  (leave) home. She won’t know what to do with herself, will she ?


Lucy Watson  (move) to Doncaster. Since Fred  (die) she  (be) all alone. It  (be) a heart attack, apparently. I’m sorry she's gone. We  (be) neighbours for over thirty years and she  (always , be) friendly and ready to help out.


Amy  (leave) . My cleaning lady , you remember ? I’m glad . I  (not trust) her since she  (break) all those plates  and   (say) it  (be) the cat.


There  (not be) much change in the village. Some new people  (take) over the shop. They seem quite nice. Hope they are more efficient than old Joe. No more news. Write when you’ve got the time.


Love , Emmy