Irregular verbs

A Write in the missing form of each of the irregular verbs below. Each verb can be used with the expressions on the right.

Bare infinitive	Past tense	Expression
run do make _________ write _________ pay _________	ran _________ _________ went _________ had _________ sold	…a business, …out of something, …up a bill… …a job well,…your best,…business(with) …a profit, …a mistake, …a complaint …abroad, …out for a meal, … bankrupt …a letter, …a report, …out a cheque …lunch, …a meeting, …problems …by credit card, …cash, …in advance …something at a profit, …at a loss, …out

B Choose a past tense form and one of the expressions above to complete the following sentences.

1. He made some calls from his hotel room and ran up a large phone bill.

2. We _________ with that company a few years ago, but then we stopped dealing with them.

3. The company lost money in its first year, but last year it ________ of $2,5m.

4. He couldn’t find a suitable job in his own country, so he ________to look for work.

5. When the consultants had finished their study they ________ for the directors, giving a list of recommendations.

6. The engineers ________ with the gearbox, so they made some modifications to it.

7. They didn’t want cash or a cheque, so I_________.

8. The product was very popular. We ________ on the first day and ordered more stock.

Exercise 3

Completed actions

Complete the following passage by putting the verbs into the past tense.

After the Second World War, Akio Morita, the co-founder of Sony, ⁽¹⁾ joined (join) forces with a friend, Masaru Ibuka. Both men ⁽²⁾ ________ (know) a great deal about telecommunications, so they ⁽³⁾ ________ (use) all their money, about $100, and ⁽⁴⁾ ______ (set) up a small engineering company, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. There ⁽⁵⁾ _________ (find) a small broken-down building to use as a laboratory in Tokyo.

There ⁽⁶⁾ _________ (be) so many holes in the roof that when it ⁽⁷⁾ _________ (rain), they ⁽⁸⁾ ______ (have) to continue working under umbrellas.

Their first task ⁽⁹⁾ __________ (be) to decide what to make. They ⁽¹⁰⁾ _________ (not want) to make radios because of the competition from much larger companies. Instead, they ⁽¹¹⁾ _________ (decide) to create an entirely new product, a tape recorder. They ⁽¹²⁾ ______ (succeed) in making a machine, but unfortunately they ⁽¹³⁾ __________ (not have) any tape, and they ⁽¹⁴⁾ _________ (not know) how to produce it.

So they ⁽¹⁵⁾ _________ (start) to experiment, and ⁽¹⁶⁾ _________ (try) using a number of different materials. Finally, they ⁽¹⁷⁾ ___________ (make) a breakthrough. They ⁽¹⁸⁾ ____________ (cut) up strips of paper to make a reel, and ⁽¹⁹⁾ _________ (paint) them with a magnetic material that they ⁽²⁰⁾ _________ (heat) on a frying pan in their small room. It ⁽²¹⁾ _______ (work), and they gradually ⁽²²⁾ ________ (improve) the process. In 1950, they ⁽²³⁾ __________ (begin) trying to sell their evolutionally machine.

And the rest is history!

Exercise 4

Time expressions with prepositions

Make questions from the prompts and complete each answer by using in, on, at or no preposition.

1. When /she/complete/ the report. When did she complete her report?

She completed her report on Friday.

2. When/they/setup/the company _____________________________.

They set up the company _________ the 1990s.

3. When /you/go abroad _____________________________.

I went abroad _________June.

4. When /the meeting/finish _____________________________.

The meeting finished ______3.15.

5. When/you/order the parts _____________________________.

We ordered the parts ______11 August.

6. When /you/pay for them _____________________________.

I paid for them _______the day before yesterday.