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S r'3r- rn a,i DASt tenSeS

29 Past simpte and past continuous


o We use the past continuous to talk about an action or situation in progress at a
particular time in the past: I wos working at eight o'clock last night.
o We atso use the past continuous to describe the background scene in a story:
The sun was shining and I wos walking along the High Street.
o When a short action interrupts an action in progress, we use when before the action
in the past simple and while/when before the action in the past continuous: When
he orrived, I was working. My car broke down while/when I wos driving home.
o When one action happens after another, we use the past simple: When Som orrived,
I cooked a meol. (= Sam arrived and then I cooked a mea[.)

rt\
r-''5 We don't usually use state verbs in continuous tenses: When I met her, she
seemed upset. (Not @
>> See Appendix 7: Verb forms, poge 7Zo.

'. i :.: ..
:i,

29a Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous of the verbs in
brackets.
o Sarah wasn't here in June. She .....Y.?.1.!19y.9.!!!!.9...... round Europe. (travet)
r This time last year we .. that big concert. (ptan)

' : : : : ::::: :i: :: :"::ili1i yilT ffi ,Tl JIR fff :',i,. u
.. some of the objects. (take, draw)
3 The police .. his story. (not believe)

4 lt was eight o'clock in the morning. I was still in bed and my brother
.......'.......... ready for school. (get)
5 | didn't eat anything for lunch because | .............. ... the food in the
cafeteria. (not like)
6 We .. anything at ten. We were really tired. (not do)

7 lt was chaos [ast night at the airport. Thousands of people .............


for ftights. (wait)
8 We .. to go, but we had to. (not want)

9 Rachel called earlier this morning. She .. very upset. (sound)


ro | ........ to my new CD, so I didn't hear the phone. (tisten)

29b Circle the correct answer.


o A: What were you saying t@hen she asked you?
B: 'Yes'.
r A: Where was Laura going I did Laura go when we met her?
B: She was on her way to London.

t+8
Grammar: post tenses iii,i$I I

A: Were you and Mark practising I Did you and Mark practise your songs when
I catled?
B: No. Mark wasn't here.
A: How were you feeling I did you feelwhen you passed your driving test?
B: lncredibly pleased!
A: Were people dancing I Did people donce when you got to the party?
I

B: No. Everybody was in the kitchen.


A: What did you do I were you doing when you left school in June?
B: Nothing! | just wanted to rest. \
A: Why did you hide I were you hiding your shopping bag when she came in?
B: Because there's a present for her in it.

?9c Complete the e-mail. Use the past simple or past continuous of the verbs in
brackets.

@&e New Message

| (0) . ....ry.\f..Y.?.t'KiLg..... (walk) down the street this morning when I

(l) .. .. (see) a lot of people in front of me. They


(2) .. ... (watch) something. When I (3)
(get) nearer, I saw what (4) .. ... (happen). A man
(5) .. .. (lie) on the pavement. He (6) ..
(bleed). Two other men (7) .. ... (stand) near him. One
of them (8) .. ... (hold) a gun. A woman (9)
(cry). I froze! Then suddenly, someone (10) ... (shout)
'Cut!' The woman (l I ) .... . (stop; crying and the wounded
man (12) .. ... (stand) up. Then | (l 3)
(notice) a camera and (14) .. ... (realise) that they
( I 5) . ...... (make) a film!

used to, would, be/get used to


We use used to or would + infinitive to talk about something that happened
regularly in the past: I used to go jogging every day until I hurt my knee.
He would stoy up oll night when he was younger.
We use used fo (not woulfl for a situation that was true in the past: She used to
hove long hair. I didn't use to like pop music. Where did they use to live?
We use be/get used fo + noun/pronoun I -ing to talk about something that seems
or becomes norma[ because we've experienced it before We don't mind the cold
weather. We're used to it. (= lt's normal for us.) You'll soon get used to weoring
glasses. (= lt wi[[ become normal for you.)
Past tenses
Past simple and continuous
iiu,i The past simple describes actions which are complete. We use the past simple for:
a past action or a sequence of past actions: I woke up very early. Then I got
dressed, hod breokfast and left the house.
a state, event or action that lasted for a period of time in the past: The Smiths
owned a farm in the north of the country. lt rained for several days ond nights.
The students woited for a month to get their exam results.
a habit in the past: When we were children, we often went to the cinema.
,'!\,\!+ The past continuous describes states, events or actions which are temporary or
incomplete. We use the past continuous:
to emphasise that a past event continued for some time: lt was roining all night.
to describe an action in progress at a particular time in the past, or a temporary
past situation or event: We were watching TV at nine o'clock last night.
to describe two or more past actions happening at the same time: He wos cooking
the dinner while she was tolking to him.
to set the scene in a story: We set off early. Before long the sun wos rising above
the distant hills and the birds were singing their morning chorus.
to tatk about something we were planning or expected to happen: We were
planning to move to Canado but decided to stay here insteod.

r,iiti We use the past simpte and the past continuous with when and as/while to talk
about a past action or event that was interrupted. Notice when we use a comma:
They arrived while we were having dinner. While we were hoving dinner, they
orrived. We were haujng dinner when they arrived. When they arrived, we were
having dinner.
Sometimes we can use either the past simple or the past continuous, depending
on what we want to emphasise. Compare: l lived there for five years. (l don't [ive
there now.) I was living there for five years. (This emphasises that my residence
there was temporary/the period of time | lived there.)

;f:;=;i:t Circle the correct answer.

rc6l7@tu,asllappeningtnJune19B5.ItwasSu1ll.[Ierandwe(1)re|axecl/
were relnxingrn the garden.My nrother (2) read / was reading a book and my
uncle (3) dozed / tuas dttzirtg peacefully in the sun.'We children (4) looked / u,ere
looking for worns and insecti.end then he (5) arriuecl / ruas arriuing.He was a
handsome man with piercing eyes and he (6) ktoked / was looking straight at my
mother. Her face (7) went / was ,goirry paIe.
'Arthur, I (B) tlrcu.ght / u,as tlinkhry you were dead!'she said.

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Grammar: post tenses

/
Jussi and | (g) met I were meeting white we (ro) lived f were livingin d
London. lGi rented I wosrenting a room in a house in North London and he
$z) stayed I was staying with friends who'd offered to put him up. We both
G) had I were having temporary jobs - at one time he $4) waited I was
(t)
waiting on tables in a caf6 and | washed I was washing dishes in a small
restaurant. Anyway, we (16) got on I were getting on really well and before
long we G) planned I were planning to go on a long holiday together. That
'.
-,.--,* (t8) was I was being before the accident.

| (r9) saf I was sitting in my taxi reading the morning newspaper


when the alarm in the bank across the street (zo) went off I was going off.
| (zt) looked I was looking up and (zz) saw I was seeing two masked men
running towards me. There was confusion everywhere. Police cars
(4) raced f were racing towards the bank while pedestrians (24) ran I were
running away from it. | (zS) turned I was turning the key in the ignition when
the masked men (26) forced I were forcing their way into my taxi and
(z) told I were telling me to drive off. lt'was the scariest thing that had
ever happened to me.

H4# Complete the extract from a story. Use the past simple or continuous of the verbs
in brackets. Sometimes both tenses are possibte.

As I (0) ...Y9:..9.?.i!?9... . (go) to sleep, I (1)


(tell) myself that I would avoid the man who was sharing the room.
I (2) . .... (sleep) deeply when I was suddenly woken
by a loud noise.To judge from the sound, my companion must have jumped
down from the upper berth to the floor in a single movement.
I (3) .. ....... (hear) him trying to open the door;it
(4) .... . (open), and then I (5) .
(hear) him running at full speed dorn'n the passage,leaving the door open
behind him.The ship (6) ...... (roll) a little and
I (7) . ..... (expect) to hear him fall but he
(8) .. .. (run) as though for his life.The door
(9) .. ... (swing) open and shut with the movement of
the ship and the sound (10) . ... (annoy) -..
I (11) ......(s.t up) and (12) .
(close) it and (13) . ... (find) my way back to my berth
in the darkness. I (I4) ...(go) to sleep again but I have
no idea how lbng I slept.

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Verbs

I was reoding a book obout astrology last nigltt.


[The reading of the book was in progress last night. The past continuous does
not describe the complete event so we assume that the book was not finished
last night.)
I read a book about astrology Last night
(I read the whole book from beginning to end last night.)
It utas raining all nigltt.
[The rain was in progress throughout the night. The use of the past continuous
emphasizes the continuity and duration of the event.)
It roined aLI ni.ght.
(It rained from the beginning of the night to the end of the night. The rain is
viewed as one single, complete event.)
Whtle I was making the dinner, the children were watching television.
(Two activities in progress at the same time.)
Whtle I made the dinner, the children wotched teleuision.
(Two complete events that happened at the same time.)
I wos hovtng a bath at B o'clock.
(The bath started before 8 o'clock and was still in progress at B o'clock.)
I had a bath at B o'clock. .'
(This describes the complete event. It started at B o'clock.)

Practice
10a put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or past continuous.

Here he ' (be), Davey Stark, the big rock star. It (be) the
end of an exhausting two-hour concert. The fans (scream)
and n. ..... [shout). They fwant) Davey, their
hero. His face [pour) with sweat, his hair'
(drip) and his heart [thump) violently. But he
9
(love) these moments at the end of a concert. He always
(feel) powerful and in control. He "
(decide) to do one more song for the crowd: one of his most popular. When he

39
Verbs

. fstart) singing, the crowd ".. .... (go) wild. By


the end of the song, they . (allldance) and "
(clap) their hands. When Davey . (leave) the stage, he
. (be) exhausted but exhilarated. But when he
. (get back) to the dressing room, he ".
(open) the door and'0. ..... (see) that two men
(wait) for him. They . (lock) the door behind Davey. He
. (shout) for his bodyguard Bernard, but no-one
. (come). The two men . (tie) his hands
behind his back,'u... ... (blindfold) and ". ..... (gag)
him. Davey . (can hear) Bernard in the next room. Bernard
. (talk) to someone and he'0. ..... (say) terrible
things about Davey. He 3'. ..... (say) that Davey ".
".
(deserve) it. ..... (Deserve) what? What
(he/mean) ? What . (go on) ? Why 'u .. .... (not
someone tell) him what .. (happen) ?

10b put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or past continuous.

1 It 1.F.ABnefl.ed. ftappen) in June 1985. It 2... .... (be) summer and


we '. ...... (all/lie out) in the garden. My mother
. (rdad) and my uncle . (just/doze) in the
sun. We children . (look for) worms and insects. And then
he'. ...... (arrive). He 8. ...... (be) a tall, handsome
man with piercing blue eyes and he'. ...... (look) straight at my
mother. Her face .. (go) pale and her eyes

. (open) wide with shock.


Arthur, l1'... .... (think) you .. (be) dead,' she
.. (say) in a kind of whisper.

2 A: I's... .... (phone) you at about 9 o'clock this morning but you
.. (not answer). What .. (you/do)?
B: Well, I '8... .... (hear) the phone but I
(have) a shower and I .. (can not) get out in time to answer
it. Anyway, what .. (you/want)?

40
Verbs

A: Well, last nightI". ...... (clear out) that old desk you
.. (give) me when I'0... .... [come across) a
pile of old letters with a red ribbon round them.
B: My letters?
A: Yes, they .. (be addressed) to you. And they
.. (al\/smell) of perfume, a man's perfume.

Last night Jake .. (wake up) at about 3 a.m. As soon as he


.. (wake up), he .. (listen out) for strange
noises but he .. (not hear) any.
His father "... .... (snore) in the
next room, some central heating pipes
.. (make) a bit of a noise
and a tap ". ...... (drip) in
the bathroom. It was all as usual. Jake
.. (open) the window
and ". ...... flook) outside.
The moon .. (be) full
and it .. (shine)
brightly. Jake
(think) he ". ...... (see) an
owl in one of the trees. He no.
,..... (can certainly hear) one.
But then he .. (see) something
different. A man - no, it .. (be) a woman. She
.. (wear) white and she .. (hide) behind a
tree. Suddenly she .. (run) towards the house.

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