Grammar Warm-up – Part 6

Advanced Grammar

Tenses 1

.Choose the correct or more natural answer in this radio news report

Emergency services were bombarded with phone calls from all over the north of the country last night by people who are reporting / reported seeing blue objects shoot across the sky. Mrs. Sophia Olsen drove / was driving along the main mad at the time

I ‘m usually coming / usually came along that bit of road at about ten. As I was going I go past the old barn, I was seeing / saw a single bright blue light going across the mad in front of my car. I stopped / stop the car and was watching / am watching it for about fifteen minutes. It was travelling / travels quite slowly from east to west and then it’s suddenly disappearing / suddenly disappeared. Until now I wasn’t believing / didn’t believe in UFOs, although my son is forever trying/forever tries to persuade me that they are existing / exist. But now I thought / ‘m thinking that maybe he was being / was right

Dr. Maria Walker, a lecturer in astronomy at Trumpton University, offers / is offering a simple explanation. The reports that were coming / come in last night are suggesting / suggest  that it was / is a meteor shower. This is / was not unusual on a small scale, but last night’s shower is seeming / seems to have been very large. In fact, we were getting / are getting an increasing number of meteor showers, and my department is currently researching / currently researches possible reasons for this

But many witnesses to the events believe / are believing that they are observing / were observing more than a meteor shower, and that last night the Earth was actually visited by beings from outer space

: ANSWERS

was driving
I’m usually coming
was going
saw
stopped
was watching
was travelling
suddenly disappeared
didn’t believe
is forever trying
exist
I’m thinking
Was
offers
were coming
suggest
was
is
seems
are getting
is currently researching
believe
were observing