PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

Put the verbs into the past continuous. Write negative sentences.

Daniel and Hans WERE FISHING (fish) I WASN’T WRITING a letter. (write)
She WASN’T GOING going to the
I WAS PLAYING foottball. (play) cinema. (go)
You WASN’T WEARING an old T-shirt.
Mr Brown WAS COOKING lunch. (cook)
(wear)
Tony WAS RIDING his bike. (ride) They WEREN’T HAVING breakfast.
(have)
Mandy and Kelly WERE DANCING. (dance) He WASN’T LOOKING at me. (look)
The boys WEREN’T CLEANING the
Jackie WAS WRITING a letter. (write)
car. (clean)
You WAS EATING an apple. (eat) Hans and Daniel WEREN’T
WINDSURFING. (windsurf)
We WERE CLIMBING a mountain. (climb) Kelly WASN’T TRAVELING in a place.
(travel)
I WAS TRYING to do my homework. (try) Justin and Phil WEREN’T PEELING
potatoes. (peel)
The women WAS PUTTING the clothes in the machine. (put)
My grandparents WEREN’T GOING to
the zoo. (go)

Turn the sentences into questions and answer them.

You were climbing a mountain. WERE YOU CLIMBBING A MOUNTAIN? Yes, I WAS
CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN.

Justin was cooking lunch. WAS JUSTIN COOKING LUNCH? No, HE WASN’T.

Tony and Jane were doing their homework. WERE THEY DOING THEIR HW? Yes, THEY
WERE DOING THEIR HW.

Sarah was writing a letter. WAS SARAH WRITING A LETTER? Yes, SHE WAS.
 Past Perfect Simple

We form the Past Perfect Simple by
using the auxiliary verb had and a verb
in Past Participle:
Ex.
Before the play was over, I had cried at
least three times.
We use the Past Perfect Simple for:
An action which happened before another action in the past.
Ex. When I arrived to the movie theater, the movie had finished.
We can use the time clauses (when, after, before) to link two events
in the past. We use the Past Perfect Simple for the event that took
place first and the Past Simple for the more recent event.
Ex. Many people had left, before the band started playing.

Exercises:

1.Put the verbs in parenthesis in the Past Perfect form.

1. Last night we went to a concert, but when we arrived, the
music HAD STARTED (start).
2. My family had a barbecue last weekend, but when we got
there, they HAD EATEN (eat) all the food.
3. Maria helped Jenny with her spring cleaning, before she
realized, they HAD FINISHED (finish).
4. Mark noticed that he wasn´t properly dressed after he HAD
SEEN (see) all the other guests at the party.
5. Wendy finished her homework after she HAD HAD (have)

dinner with her family.

 In negative sentences, we add not to the auxiliary verb had.

Example. It was in Mrs. John’s class that we noticed she hadn´t come to
school.

2. Rewrite the following sentences in their negative form.

1. He had been to New York before. HE HADN’T BEEN TO NY BEFORE
2. She had gone home before dark. SHE HADN’T GONE
3. Mathew had finished eating before I arrived. MATHEW HADN’T FINISHED
4. Liz and Mary had bought everything they needed by 5:00 pm. LIZ AND MARY
HADN’T BOUGHT EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED BY 5PM
5. Tony had built his own house by the age of 25. TONY HAD BUILT HIS OWN
HOUSE BY THE AGE OF 25.

3. Match the two columns to

make full sentences as in the
example. a. I had left the office.
b. She had never been to France.
c. Before I got the promotion.
d. She noticed somebody had
broken into it.
e. Because everybody else had
1. When Tracy got home d
forgotten to turn in their projects.
2. Derek had paid full price C f. Before he realized there was a

3. Before the fire started A discount.

4. I had applied for another job E
5. Before now B
6. Thomas won the price F
 Circle the correct verb form in each of the following sentences.

a) Mary was preparing lunch when they came.

b) Tom was very unlucky. It was raining every day during his holidays.
c) Who was that nice girl you were talking to when I walked by the pub?
d) Last weekend Susan fell and broke her leg.
e) When I entered the cafeteria Mary had lunch with Peter.
f) We were driving to Berlin in Robert´s new car.
g) The sun was shining brightly when I got up this morning.
h) Ann finally told us the whole story about Peter.

Read the following sentences and put the verbs in brackets in either the Past Simple or the Past
Continuous. Put any
a) Asother words
Sophie in brackets in theupcorrect
___________(walk) Regentplace.
Street she ___________(meet) an old
friend from college.
b) When ___________(father/arrive) ?
He ___________(arrive) late. The train ___________(be)delayed due to an
accident.
c) Who ___________(you/ speak) to on the phone when I ___________(come)in?
d) Mary ___________(read) in bed when she ___________(hear) a strange noise
downstairs.
e) When Mr. Lawrence ___________(leave) home at 8.30 this morning, the sun
___________(shine) brightly. However, by 10 o´clock it ___________(rain) heavily.
f) Sebastian ___________(arrive) at Susan´s house a little before 11 a.m., but she
___________(not/be) there. She ___________(study) at the library.
g) The fireman ___________(rescue) a 75-year-old woman who ___________(be)
trapped on the second floor of the burning building.
h) ___________(you/do) any shopping yesterday?