The following exercise is designed to test your understanding of my series of articles about the simple tenses and state verbs. Remember, verbs that refer to conditions, emotions, possession and senses usually have simple tense uses, not continuous uses.  

Simple or Continuous and State Verbs Exercise 1

Choose between the present simple or present continuous forms to complete the following sentences using the verbs in brackets.

1. I ____ a headache right now. (to have)
2. This film ____ good. (to seem)
3. His hair ____ like burnt rubber. (to smell)
4. I am not sure if that koala ____ in your apartment. (to belong)
5. Jane ____ far too many pairs of shoes. (to own)
6. The police ____ to find the culprit as quickly as possible. (to want)
7. It ____ more difficult to find a job. (to get)
8. Rudolph ____ rather fat at the moment. (to be)
9. We ____ everything about the failing economy. (to understand)
10. I ____ to work this week. (to run)

 

Simple or Continuous and State Verbs Exercise 2

Choose between the past simple or past continuous forms to complete the following sentences using the verbs in brackets.

1. I ____ good yesterday. (to feel)
2. Kilroy ____ his book when the lights went out. (to read)
3. When we arrived, they ____ like they needed some help. (to look)
4. Dinosaurs ____ for a very long time. (to exist)
5. I ____ my tyre but it started raining. (to change)
6. Helen ____ angry at me earlier. (to seem)
7. You never ____ my paintings. (to like)
8. Grandma was ____ to dance when the music stopped. (to try)
9. We ____ the performance, but it stopped because of the fire. (to love)
10. When the man started crying, they all ____ why. (to know)

 

Exercise 1 Answers

1. I have a headache right now.
2. This film seems
3. His hair smells like burnt rubber.
4. I am not sure if that koala belongs in your apartment.
5. Jane owns far too many pairs of shoes.
6. The police want to find the culprit as quickly as possible.
7. It is getting more difficult to find a job.
8. Rudolph is rather fat at the moment.
9. We understand everything about the failing economy.
10. I am running to work this week.

Yes this is something of a trick exercise for the present tenses – if they are state verbs, hopefully it is rather clear now that they should simply be in the simple tense!  

Exercise 2 Answers

The problem is trickier in the past tense, because interrupted or ongoing state verbs should still be in the past simple tense, even though the continuous may feel appropriate.

1. I felt good yesterday.
2. Kilroy was reading his book when the lights went out.
3. When we arrived, they looked like they needed some help.
4. Dinosaurs existed for a very long time.
5. I was changing my tyre but it started raining.
6. Helen seemed angry at me earlier.
7. You never liked my paintings.
8. Grandma was trying to dance when the music stopped.
9. We loved the performance, but it stopped because of the fire.
10. When the man started crying, they all knew

Want more English tenses exercises?

Check out The English Tenses Exercise Book; if you found this useful, there are 160 more exercises in the book.