Bisogna mettere tutti i verbi che trovi scritti tra parentesi, nel tempo corretto, scegliendo principalmente tra il past simple e il past continuous, ma tenendo presente che dove c’è il discorso diretto, potranno servire anche degli altri tempi. Bisogna ricordare che il past simple serve per l’andamento narrativo (in ordine cronologico) mentre il past continuous serve per descrivere quelle azioni che erano già in corso in un momento specifico del narrativo.
Buon lavoro!
Who is Johnny Depp?
Last summer I __________ (go) to Los Angeles to stay with my cousin for a few weeks. One afternoon we _______ (have) lunch in a nice restaurant in the centre of town when my cousin __________ (get) a call on her mobile phone and __________ (go) outside to talk.
While she __________ (speak) to her friend, I suddenly __________ (notice) a man in a black hat who __________ (sit) at the next table. It __________ (be) the actor Johnny Depp! He __________ (be) alone, and I __________ (decide) to take my chance. So I __________ (get up) and __________ (go) to his table.
“Excuse me, can I take a photograph with you and me together?” I __________ (ask).
He __________ (say) yes, so I __________ (stop) a waitress who __________ (pass) and __________ (give) my camera to her. She __________ (take) the photo of me with Johnny and I __________ (thank) her and __________ (go back) to my table.
When my cousin __________ (come back) , I __________ (smile) . “Why __________ (smile) ?” she __________ (ask) .
“The waitress __________ (just take) a photo of me with Johnny Depp!” I __________ (reply) .
“Johnny Depp? Where is he?” she __________ (ask) .
“He __________ (sit) at that table.” I __________ (reply) .
She __________ (turn) to look and then __________ (start) to laugh.
“That __________ (not be) Johnny Depp!” she __________ (say).
I __________ (look) again at the man in the black hat: he __________ (laugh) too!
ATTENZIONE
VERSIONE CORRETTA QUI SOTTO
SPIEGAZIONI SU RICHIESTA
(nei commenti)
Red = past simple
Blue = past continuous
Purple = present perfect
Pink = present simple/continuous
Last summer I went to Los Angeles to stay with my cousin for a few weeks. One afternoon we were having lunch in a nice restaurant in the centre of town when my cousin got a call on her mobile phone and went outside to talk.
While she was speaking to her friend, I suddenly noticed a man in a black hat who was sitting at the next table. It was the actor Johnny Depp! He was alone, and I decided to take my chance. So I got up and went to his table.
“Excuse me, can I take a photograph with you and me together?” I asked.
He said yes, so I stopped a waitress who was passing and gave my camera to her. She took the photo of me with Johnny and I thanked her and went back to my table.
When my cousin came back, I was smiling. “Why are you smiling?” she asked.
“The waitress has just taken a photo of me with Johnny Depp!” I replied.
“Johnny Depp? Where is he?” she asked.
“He is sitting at that table.” I replied.
She turned to look and then started to laugh.
“That isn’t Johnny Depp!” she said.
I looked again at the man in the black hat: he was laughing too!
Ingliando 
Scusi. Perchè ” The waitress JUST TOOK a photo…..” e NON ” The waitress HAS JUST TAKEN a photo…” io avrei usato la seconda soluzione , l’evento è successo da poco è recente, inoltre JUST si presta bene al Present Perfect in questo contesto.
Grazie.
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Hi Mirko and welcome to Ingliando. Your observation is perfectly correct and I have in fact updated the exercise. The reason is quite simple: I originally used this exercise at work in the university with students who were learning the past continuous but who hadn’t learnt the present perfect yet. I put that verb in the past simple (which is just about acceptable) to avoid introducing a new tense and creating confusion. Now that the exercise is online, it is definitely better to provide the more appropriate tense, as you pointed out. Thank you. 🙂
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Grazie a Lei…pensavo di essere io a non aver capito! Dubbio risolto 🙂
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🙂👍
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🙂 sorry prof I didn’t understand one thing which has nothing to do with the use of the tenses though,
when you say ” it was the actor J:D” why didn’t you say “HE was ….”? actually we have mentioned that there was a man so we know we are talking about a man ….
I’m a bit confused…
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This is typical in English, Roberta. On the phone, for example, we say, “It’s me” and not “I’m me”. It’s as if you’re answering the question, “Who is it?”. “It’s Bob.” Since you’re giving the name in any case, you tend to leave the subject impersonal. “Who’s that?” “It’s my brother.” I don’t think there’s a rule, it’s just a typical usage.
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ohhh ok thanks so much 🙂
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scusi perchè the waitress has e not had??
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Perché è un discorso diretto e quindi riporta le parole com’erano enunciate nel momento di parlare. In questo caso chi parla si riferisce ad un’azione appena compiuta, ancora fortemente legata al presente, e senza nessun riferimento al tempo: condizioni perfette per il “present perfect” in inglese.
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