Past Continuous

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The
interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real
interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

* I was watching TV when she called.

* When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.

* While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.

* What were you doing when the earthquake started?

* I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.

* You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.

* While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.

* Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.

* While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.

* A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?

B: I was snowboarding.

Simple Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in
the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have
one specific time in mind.

Examples:

* I saw a movie yesterday.

* I didn't see a play yesterday.

* Last year, I traveled to Japan.

* Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.

* Did you have dinner last night?

* She washed her car.

* He didn't wash his car.

Past Perfect

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past.
It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Examples:

* I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.

* I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.

* Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.

* Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?

* She only understood the movie because she had read the book.

* Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.

* We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.

Exercise 1:

Write the past continuous of each verb in brackets for each sentence.

1. Boris ____________________ English, but he decided to study German. (learn)

2. They ____________________in the lake when they saw a croc! (swim)

3. Your father ______________________ the car but your grandma called him. (repare)

4. I __________________ a magazine when Doctor Johnson arrived. (read)

5. You _____________________ your bag before we started walking home. (pack)

6. My friends _________________ the match on TV but my mom changed to the soap

opera. (watch)

7. It _________________, when I found him. (rain)

8. The dog __________________until midnight. (bark)

9. The children _________________ their teeth when the earthquake started. (brush)

10. Anne and Kelly __________________a song when you arrived. (sing)

Exercise 2:
Organize each idea to form the negative past continuous sentence:

1. Sarah and Luke / not / work________________________________________________

2. Mister Miller / not / teach /

chemistry___________________________________________________

3. Barry / not / drive / a lorry_________________________________________________

4. Mandy / not / have / lunch_________________________________________________

5. Albert / not / play / tennis_________________________________________________

6. Taylor and Bob / not / cycle / home__________________________________________

7. Annie / not / clean / the table______________________________________________

8. Benjamin / not / write / an e-mail___________________________________________

9. Jane / not / exercise / in the gym____________________________________________

10. Robert / not / buy / flowers________________________________________________

Exercise 3:

Simple past put the following verbs in simple past, and depending on the positive or

negative sign (+) (-) you should place them in affirmative or negative.

1. You ___________________ high. (jump +)

2. Albert ______________________ squash. (play+)

3. The teacher _________________ our English. (test -)

4. Fiona ___________________ her grandma. (visit -)

5. He _____________________ the car. (wash+)

6. You ____________________ thirsty. (to be -)

7. He _______________________ a computer. (have +)

8. I _________________________bread. (buy +)

9. You _____________________________ the house. (see -)

 10. She _____________________________ her boyfriend’s car. (drive +)

Exercise 4:

Write the following sentences in the past perfect structure.

1. She left her house. ______________________________________________.

2. My brother ate three hamburgers!

______________________________________________________________.

3. Annie was elected as president of the class.

________________________________________________________________.

4. Sherry went to the police station.

________________________________________________________________.

5. Darth Vader fought against his son.

________________________________________________________________.