Focus on Grammar

Expressing the Past

Different tenses are used to report past actions. The simple past tense is the most frequently used in scientific writing. It denotes an action, which took part a long time ago and is completed; or to express past habits.

The first man appeared about 1,5 million years ago.

When I was a child, I liked ice-cream.

The Past Continuous Tense is used:

a) to describe an activity in progress at a time in the past.

What were you doing yesterday at 5?

When she entered the room, he was speaking on the phone.

b) to express the future in the past.

He was in a hurry. He was leaving for London at 3 and he

did not want to be late.

The Past Perfect Tense is used to express an action that happened before a definite time in the past.

When I came he had already left for the station.

He had completed his work before the conference.

When using different tenses in the same sentence, different ideas can be expressed.

When we came she made some coffee.(first we came and then she

made the coffee)

When we came she was making some coffee. (she was in the process

of making coffee when we came)

When we came she had made some coffee. (the coffee was ready when

we came)

The Past Perfect Continuous is used when the action began before the time of speaking in the past and continued up to that time:

He was very tired because he had been working for three hours.

Exercise 1. Choose the correct past tense.

1. Few inventions... (to make) such a tremendous difference to everyday life as the internal combustion engine. 2. In 1906 a well-known sportsman Charles Rolls... (to go) into partnership with Henry Royce, an engineer. Together they... (to build) the Rolls-Royce motor car. 3. I... (to work) hard on my project when suddenly I... (to hear) a door bell. 4. I couldn’t recognize him, he... (to change) a lot. 5. Tom... (to look) badly yesterday, he... (to be) ill for a long time. 6. We needed money so we... (to sell) some of our things. 7. Another man-made satellite... (to go) just into orbit. 8. When the manufacture of wire, which... (to be) the principal object of the new enterprise stopped, production... (to be) limited to the manufacture of steel. 9. In spite of the frequent internal wars and Viking invasions which... (to earn) the Anglo-Saxon era the name of the Dark Ages in English history. definite economic progress... (to take) place in the same period. 10. As a boy Dr.Clark never... (to take) any interest in chemistry. 11. He... (to be) professor of theoretical physics at Leeds University already when I entered it. 12. The manufacture of steel at Robertsbridge... (to begin) early in December 1565. 13. While Mother... (to cook) dinner, we... (to clean) the living-room. 14. I saw her at the party. She... (to wear) a very nice dress, her eyes... (to shine). 15. Her eyes were red. I think she... (to cry). 16. The Chinese... (to invent) gun-powder. 17. When I (to open) the door I (to find) him under the sofa. He (to look for) the keys for a quarter of an hour.

Exercise 2. Translate into Russian. Comment on the use of the tenses.

1. Air pollution has become a major problem in our cities. 2. By 1957 Russia had launched the first sputnik. 3. Abraham Darby died in 1717 and his son, Abraham Darby II, took over his ironworks. 4. By law, all metal found in occupied countries belonged to Rome. 5. We have just briefly enumerated some of the features of iron. 6. By the time of the Great Exhibition of London in 1851, the metallurgical world had already experienced a great advance in technical progress. 7. In recent years there has been a great increase in the application of this method. 8. The last hundred years has seen many innovations in the ancient art of casting. 9. I’m afraid I haven’t seen you for a long time. 10. She was waiting for me when I arrived. 11. When I came in they were discussing the advantages of new technology.

Exercise 3. Correct the sentences in which the tenses are misused.

1. They completed all the preparations by five o’clock.

2. Please, tell me where you were going to yesterday at 3 o’clock..

3. I had written to you several days ago. I wanted to know more about the entrance exams.

4. She had returned from Chicago yesterday.

5. When she came back she found out that somebody had broken the front door. 6. What did you do at this time yesterday? I was skating.

7. Have you been waiting for me for along time? Yes, I have waited for you since 2 o’clock.

8. I returned home, shook the water off my raincoat and hang it up.

9. Everything had been ready by 2. So when I came the hostess was having a rest before the guests arrived.

10. He found the place even more beautiful than he expected.

11. We could not start the experiment before we had obtained the necessary data ..

12. The use of metals had marked one of the greatest stages in the evolution of man.

13. At the same time they were discussing the results of the experiment.

14. The treatment of steel is now an elaborate science.

15. The use of vacuum methods in metallurgy considerably increased since the mid-fifties.

Text 2

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