GRAMMAR FOCUS

3A Narrative tenses

a. Underline the correct options.

I meeting/ met my friend Alex while I was fixing/ fixed my bike last year. The wheel fell/had
fallen off and I was trying/ had tried to put it back on. Alex had walked/was walking down the
street when he saw/was seeing me and he was offering/offered to help. After that, we
became/had become friends.

I met/ had met my friend Anna in a hospital. I was being/was there because I was falling/ had
fallen over and had broken / was breaking my arm. Anna was / had been there because she
injured / had injured her foot. We started / were starting talking while we had waited/were
waiting to see the doctor. By the time the doctor was arriving/ arrived, we had become / became
good friends.

b. Complete the interview qith the most suitable form of the verbs in brackets. Sometimes
there is more than one possible answer.

A. When did the

accident happen
(happen)?
B. lt happened
(happen) as I was driving
(drive) along the High
Street last night. I
Saw (see) an
old lady. Just as I turned (turn) left, she
fell (fall) over onto the pavement right
in front of me. I was pretty sure I could see why. A Young
man pushed (push) her over.
Straight away I stoped (stop)
my car and I jumped (jump) out.
I run (run) over to the old lady.
She was lying (lie) on the ground and
she was crying (cry).
A. Did you notice (you / notice) anything else?
B. Yes ... a large flowerpot on the pavement. It
was (be) broken.
A. Where did it come (it / come) from?
B. It fell (fall) from a window above the
street. The young man had pushed (push) the
old lady out of the way. He saved (save)
her life!
3B used to, usually

a. Complete the text with the correct words/phrases.

used to go use to have used to be went

used to have usually visit didn’t use to go
don’t go live lived don’t live used to enjoy

When I was a child, I used to go to

my grandparents’ house in the mountains. We

lived in a city back then, and we visited

them every year. We didn't use to have a car at

that time, so we travelled by bus. It always took ages! We

didn’t use to go in the winter because there was too

much snow.

I loved helping my grandfather in his garden

(although I usually avoid gardening now!). He never

Used to have a lawnmower, so we had to cut the

grass by hand. It was hard, but I used to enjoy it.

I still live in the same city, but I

Don’t go to the mountains any more. My

grandparents don’t live there any longer. They

went to live in a large town five years ago.

Now, I usually visit them in the summer, but it’s

not as nice as the mountains used to be.

b. If possible, change the verbs in bold to the correct form of used to. If it is not possible, put
x.

1. I drank a lot of cola, but now I don’t. used to drink ...

2. I celebrated New Year with my family last year. x

3. She had long hair when she was younger.

She used to had
4. Where did you live when you were a child?
 ____________________________________
5. I went for a run every day last week.
i used to go fort a run
6. We didn’t wear the same clothes all the time.
we didn´t used to wear
7. In the past, people spent more time at work.
used to
8. Did you play with your sister when you were kids? x
9. I bought this bag in London - it’s my favourite bag. x
10. They weren’t friends in those days.
They didn’t used to