q('~I bought a new computer last week, but it * so I took it back to the shop.~didn\'t work~Yes. The expression of finished time last week makes it clear that the 3 is the correct tense to use here.~hasn\'t worked~No. You can say it hasn\'t worked only if you still have the computer and you are still trying to get it to work. You need the tense that is used with finished time for your answer here.~worked not~Whoops! This is not English; you always need an auxiliary verb with negative sentences. Try again.~don\'t work~Wrong tense and wrong form! You can never say it don\'t work, and in any case you are talking about a past event in finished time, so you need the 3 tense.~12~');
q('~I tried to find you before school today. *~Where were you?~Yes. Before school today is clearly finished time and so the 3 is needed.~Where have you been?~Sorry. Before school today is clearly finished time and so the 3 is needed.~Where did you be?~Ouch! This is impossible, but you seem to want to use the correct tense, the 3.~Where was you?~Whoops! Was and you can never go together, but you seem to have chosen the correct tense, the 3.~12~');
q('~My math teacher wasn\'t happy yesterday. I * to bring my calculator to class.~forgot~Correct. Because the speaker is talking about an event that happened in finished time yesterday.~have forgotten~No. the speaker is talking about an event that happened in finished time yesterday, so the 4 is not right here.~forget~No. You cannot use the present simple tense for an event that happened in finished time.~was forgetting~No, this is impossible. What tense do you need for an event that happened in finished time.~12~');
q('~Have you seen my pencil? It was here a minute ago and now *. .~it\'s gone~Yes. The 4 is the correct tense here.~it have gone~Sorry, the words it and have do not go together. But you seem to have chosen the correct tense, the 4.~it was going~No, this answer does not make any sense at all!~it went~Sorry, the word now should remind you that you need to use the 4 in order to connect a past event to the present.~10~');
q('~I * to the cinema since I came to Germany.~haven\'t gone~Yes. The expression since I came to Germany is an expression of unfinished time so the 4 is needed.~didn\'t go~Sorry, the expression since I came to Germany is an expression of unfinished time so which tense do you need?~hasn\'t gone~Wrong. The words I and hasn\'t can never go together. But you seem to have chosen the correct tense, the 4.~went not~Aaargh! This is horrible English. I suggest you go back and practise the present tense!~11~');
q('~I like your watch. How long * it?~have you had~Yes. The person still has the watch so the connection to the present is clear and that\'s why the 4 is needed.~are you having~Sorry, you can\'t use the present continuous here. The person still has the watch so the connection to the present is clear. Which tense do you need?~did you have~No. If you use the 3 here it seems that your friend no longer has his watch. But this does not fit with the first sentence.~you have~Sorry; to ask a question in English you need to use an auxiliary verb. This is missing in your answer.~10~');
q('~Have you ever ridden a horse? - No, but I * a camel when I visited Egypt last year.~rode~Yes. Last year is clearly an expression of finished time, so the 3 is correct.~have ridden~Wrong. You cannot use the 4 with an expression of finished time like last year.~was riding~No. The speaker is making a simple statement of fact about an event that happened in finished time, so the 3 is needed.~ride~Wrong, you cannot use the present tense with an expression of finished time like last year.~12~');
q('~My big sister * a baby. She\'s going to call it Yoshi.~has had~Correct. The 4 is right here!~had~No. Because of the second sentence, it is clear that the speaker is making a connection between the past event having the baby and the present. So what tense do you need?~was having~No. This makes for a very strange-sounding sentence.~has~She has a baby is a correct sentence, but it is not the right answer here. This is because the speaker was thinking about the process of giving birth to a baby, and not to the fact of her now having a baby.~10~');
q('~I went to the school dance last Friday, but I * it very much~didn\'t enjoy~Yes. Last Friday is a clear expression of finished time and so the 3 is needed.~haven\'t enjoyed~Wrong. Last Friday is a clear expression of finished time and so what tense is needed?~don\'t enjoy~No, you cannot use the present tense for a past event like this.~didn\'t enjoyed~Almost right, but we don\'t need to put an ending on the verb in the 3 negative form.~12~');
q('~I * very well last night. There was loud music coming from a house down the road.~didn\'t sleep~Yes. Last night is an expression of finished time so the 3 is used.~haven\'t slept~Wrong. Last night is an expression of finished time so which tense do you need?~didn\'t slept~Sorry. The tense is correct but the word slept is not.~wasn\'t sleeping~No. Which tense do you need for an event that happens in finished time?~12~');
q('~I * very well since I bought a new bed. I don\'t find it very comfortable.~haven\'t slept~Yes! The word since indicates that the 4 is correct here.~didn\'t sleep~No. What tense is usually used with the word since for a state or action that continues into the present?~haven\'t sleep~Sorry. You have chosen the correct tense but you need to use the past participle. sleep is not correct.~was sleeping~No, this doesn\'t make sense. Choose the correct tense to go with the word since.~10~');
q('~I * my foot playing tennis last week, and now I can hardly walk.~injured~Yes. Last week is finished time and so the 3 is right here.~have injured~Sorry. Last week is finished clearly an expression of finished time and so the 4 is not right here.~injure~No, you cannot use the present tense for a past event.~was injuring~No, you need the correct tense for a simple statement of fact about what happened in finished time.~12~');
q('~* my hand on a piece of glass. Do you have a Band-Aid?~I\'ve cut~Yes. It is clear that the speaker\'s hand is bleeding now, so she uses the 4 to connect the past event to the present.~I cut~OK, but there\'s a better answer to connect the past event with the present.~I was cutting~No. The past continuous (your suggestion) is used when it is important to say that a past event took place over a certain period of time. This is not the case here.~I cutted~Wrong on two counts. Firstly, you have used the wrong tense to establish a connection between a past event and the present. And secondly, the 3 tense of cut is cut, not cutted!~10~');
q('~* my calculator? I can\'t find it anywhere?~Have you seen~Yes. The speaker is making a clear connection to the present so the 4 is needed.~Did you see~Your answer is OK (and acceptable to many American English speakers), but what is a better answer?~You seen~OK, you can say this if you are speaking quickly and a little carelessly. But usually the auxiliary verb is needed.~Did you seen~No, your combination of words is impossible in English. What tense do you need to establish the connection between a past event and the present?~10~');
q('~Which part (in italics) of the following passage contains a mistake?I saw a very nice jacket in Frankfurt at the weekend. But I didn\'t have enough money with me, so I haven\'t bought it.
~2saw~No, this isn\'t a mistake. The 3 is the correct tense for an action that happened in finished time, last weekend.~didn\'t have~No, this isn\'t a mistake. The 3 is the correct tense for this state that existed in finished time, last weekend.~haven\'t bought~Yes. All the action takes place in finished time, last weekend, so all verbs should be in the 3.~no mistake~You said there is no mistake but look again! All the action happened in finished time!~12~');
q('~I was in a big hurry so I * no time to phone you.~had~Yes. The 3 is necessary here~have had~Sorry, because the verb in the first clause was is in the 3, you need the 3 in the second clause too.~was having~No, this does not make sense. What tense do you need for a simple event in finished time?~have~No, the present tense in the second clause does not fit with the 3 in the first clause.~12~');
q('~My grandmother * for 62 years before dying at the age of 89!~smoked~Yes. It is clear, unfortunately, that the speaker\'s grandmother is dead and so her smoking happened in finished time. So the 3 is correct here.~has smoked~Wrong! It is clear, unfortunately, that the speaker\'s grandmother is dead and so her smoking happened in finished time. What tense do you need?~have smoked~Impossible! My grandmother and have smoked can never go together. In any case, the 4 is wrong since the action took place in finished time!~was smoking~No, this is not right. The speaker is making a simple statement of fact about what his grandmother did before she died; i.e. in finished time.~12~');
q('~My grandmother * for 62 years and she never even coughs. What a lucky woman!~has smoked~Yes. Your grandmother is clearly still alive, so the 4 is correct here.~smoked~No, the fact the verb coughs is in the present tense indicates that the grandmother is still alive. What tense do you need for an action that continues into the present?~is smoking~Sorry. What tense is associated with the word for in expressions of unfinished time?~smokes~Sorry. What tense is associated with the word for in expressions of unfinished time?~11~');
q('~I * late for school again this morning. The teacher was not happy!~arrived~Yes! It is clear that the speaker is talking later in the day about what happened that morning, so the 3 is needed.~have arrived~Sorry, read the longer explanation about why the unfinished time expression this morning is used here with the 3.~am arriving~Sorry, you have used the present continuous for an action happening now but the word was in the second question sentence makes it clear that the speaker is talking about a past event.~arrive~Sorry, the word was in the second question sentence makes it clear that the speaker is talking about a past event, so your answer in the present tense does not work!~12~');
q('~\"Where\'s Emiko?\" - \"* to the library!\"~She\'s gone~Yes. This is the usual way of saying why someone is not here now.~She went~OK, this is possible, but can you think of a more usual answer?~She is going~Just possible, but there is a much better answer.~She goes~No, the present simple tense is used for repeated actions, so it can\'t be used here.~10~');
q('~I * anything since breakfast so I feel very thirsty now.~haven\'t drunk~Yes! The word since is one of unfinished time so the 4 is correct here.~didn\'t drink~No, you need the tense that connects the past to the present. And in any case the word since is one of unfinished time.~wasn\'t drinking~Sorry, this doesn\'t make sense. What tense is used for time continuing into the present?~don\'t drink~No, you can\'t use the present simple tense for a past action.~11~');
q('~Who * the thermometer?~invented~Yes. The invention of the thermometer obviously happened at a specific time in the distant past so the 3 is used.~has invented~Sorry, the invention of the thermometer obviously happened at a specific time in the distant past so the 4 is not the right tense.~invents~Wrong. The invention of the thermometer happened in the past so you cannot use the present simple tense.~invent~No, who and invent can never go together. In any case you need the 3 tense here.~12~');
q('~That\'s a lovely scarf! Where * it?~did you buy~Yes. The 3 is the usual tense for asking for details about what happened in the past.~have you bought~This would seem to be right, but in fact the 3 is the usual tense for asking for details about what happened in the past.~you buy~Wrong. This is not the way to ask questions in English; you need an auxiliary verb!~do you buy~This doesn\'t make sense. The speaker is clearly asking a question about the past.~12~');
q('~Read the following sentence and decide which of the 4 statements below is correct.I\'ve lived in Germany for 3 years but I can\'t speak the language very well!
~The speaker still lives in Germany.~Yes. The use of the 4 makes it clear that the speaker\'s life in Germany extends into the present.~The speaker no longer lives in Germany.~No, if this were the case, the speaker would have chosen the 3 tense and not the 4.~The speaker is moving to Germany for 3 years.~No, if this were true the speaker would have used a tense to express a future event.~The speaker lived in Germany 3 years ago.~Sorry, the question statement does not allow your interpretation.~11~');
q('~Which part (in italics) of the following passage contains a mistake?I haven\'t learned very much German since I came here in 1996. Unfortunately I have been too busy.
~3haven\'t learned~No, the word since indicates that the 4 is the correct tense here.~came~No, this isn\'t a mistake. In 1996 is an expression of finished time and so the 3 is correct!~have been~No, the 4 is needed for a state being busy that continues into the present.~no mistake~Yes. Everything is correct here.~11~');