Share Spooky Halloween Mixed Tenses Exercise
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I did not sleep well because a wolf __________ at the moon. (to howl)
I did not sleep well because a wolf was howling at the moon. (continuously)
Sandy always __________ that there is a bogeyman under her bed. (to worry)
Sandy always worries that there is a bogeyman under her bed. (a general rule)
We __________ a pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern next week. (to carve)
We are going to carve / will carve a pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern next week. (a future determination; “are carving” could also work as a scheduled plan)
She had a dreadful feeling that she __________ to lock the cellar door. (to forget)
She had a dreadful feeling that she had forgotten to lock the cellar door. (a past action that happened before the feeling)
Tony __________ a poltergeist has been moving his furniture every night. (to suspect)
Tony suspects a poltergeist has been moving his furniture every night. (a current feeling)
When she saw her own name on a gravestone, Janice __________. (to faint)
When she saw her own name on a gravestone, Janice fainted. (simple past action)
I __________ in vampires, but that man looks like one. (to believe / not)
I don’t / do not believe in vampires, but that man looks like one. (simple present belief)
The children found a grisly corpse while they __________ in the park. (to play)
The children found a grisly corpse while they were playing in the park. (interrupted continuous past action)
Many bizarre things __________ at the lake recently. (to happen)
Many bizarre things have happened / have been happening at the lake recently. (ongoing current events which started in the past)
Rupert shrieked when the clock __________ on the floor. (to fall)
Rupert shrieked when the clock fell on the floor. (simple complete past)
The police __________ the otherworldly goo tomorrow morning. (to investigate)
The police will investigate / are going to investigate the otherworldly goo tomorrow morning. (future determined action)
Hilary and Erin are not coming to the party because they __________ two nights in a haunted house for charity. (to spend)
Hilary and Erin are not coming to the party because they are spending two nights in a haunted house for charity. (ongoing present action)
Can you close the curtains? The moonlight __________ an unnerving shadow on the wall. (to cast)
Can you close the curtains? The moonlight is casting an unnerving shadow on the wall. (ongoing present action)
My biggest fear is that zombies __________ my home. (to attack)
My biggest fear is that zombies will attack my home. (future/imagined fear)
Denny opened the door, thinking the pizza __________. It hadn’t. (to arrive)
Denny opened the door, thinking the pizza had arrived. It hadn’t. (past event complete before he “opened” the door)
She said she __________ afraid of spiders, but she gave a bloodcurdling scream when the tarantula appeared. (to be / not)
She said she wasn’t / was not afraid of spiders, but she gave a bloodcurdling scream when the tarantula appeared. (reported past speech)
