Past continuous

PAST SIMPLE OR PRESENT PERFECT?

Past Simple	Present Perfect
For an action which happened at a definite time in the past. Simon Cook painted his first picture in 1980.	For an action which happened at an unstated time in the past. The exact time is either unknown or unimportant Simon Cook has painted a lot of pictures.
For an action which began and finished in the past. Mr Clark taught Maths for thirty years. (He is no longer a teacher. He has retired.)	For an action which started in the past and continues up to the present. Mrs Nelson has taught French for 20 years and is going to retire.
For an action which happened in the past and cannot be repeated. I once spoke to Frank Sinatra. (He is no longer alive. I won’t speak to him again.)	For an action which happened in the past and may be repeated I’ve spoken to Celine Dion. (She is still alive. I may speak to her again.)
For an action which happened within a specific time period which is over at the moment of speaking. 1 wrote three letters this morning. (The time period is over. It is evening or night already)	For an action which happened within a specific time period which is not over at the moment of speaking I’ve written two letters this morning. (It’s still morning.)

Exercise 4. Put the verbs in brackets into past simple or present perfect.

A A: I ’ve seen this film before.

B: Me too, but I love this actor. He... (play) a lot of good roles.

A: Tom Cruise? I... (meet) him, you know.

B: Really? When?

A: When I... (be) in Los Angeles on holiday.

B A: Who is that man?

B: He’s an artist. He... (paint) a lot of beautiful pictures.

A: I think Van Gogh... (paint) the most beautiful pictures ever. But his life... (be) miserable.

C A: I... (just/hear from) an old friend of mine.

B: Oh, really?

A: Yes. I... (get) Jim’s letter this morning.

B: That’s nice. When... (you/first/meet) him?

A. He... (live) next door to me for three years, but he... (move) away last June and I... (not/see) him since.

PAST CONTINUOUS

is formed by means of auxiliary verb to be in the past simple tense and Participle I of the notional verb:

I was working. – What were you doing? – I was not working. – I was having a rest.

We use past continuous: a) for an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past	At seven o’clock yesterday evening they were having dinner.
b) for an action which was in progress when another action interrupted it	He was walking down the street when he ran into an old friend.
c) for two or more simultaneous past actions	She was talking on her mobile phone while she was driving to work.
The past continuous is used with the following time expressions: while, when, all morning / evening /

Exercise 5. Put the verbs in brackets into Past Continuous and explain its use.

1. Why you (walk) along Oxford Street late yesterday evening?

2. I (read) in bed when I heard a scream.

3. What you (do) at this time yesterday?

4. What the girl (try on) when the fire alarm rang?

5. She (put) a pair of gloves into her bag when the shop-girl caught her at it.

6. You (wait) for your friend when I saw you.

7. It (get) colder as the sun (set).

8. The children (play) quietly on the floor when their mother came back.

Exercise 6. Ask and answer questions about what Brian and Ruth were doing at exact time on their day trip yesterday:

Model: 9:15 - travel to Brighton by train – What were Brian and Ruth doing at a quarter past nine in the morning? – Brian and Ruth were traveling by train at a quarter past nine in the morning.

11: 00 am - look around shops 12: 30 pm - eat lunch at seaside restaurant

11: 30 am - walk on beach 2: 00 pm - visit fun fair

11: 45 am - swim in the sea 5: 00 pm - have afternoon tea

Exercise 7. A group of people were staying in a hotel. One evening the fire alarm rang. Use the words in brackets to make sentences saying what each person was doing at the time.

Model: (Don / have / a bath) – Don was having a bath.

1. (Ann / write / a letter in her room) Ann...

2. (George / get / ready to go out) George...

3. (Carol and Dennis / have / dinner) Carol and Dennis...

4. (Tom / make / a phone call) Tom...

5. (Susan / watch TV) Susan...

6. (Jane / look through the newspaper) Jane...

7. (Lisa and Linda / quarrel about something) Lisa and Linda...

8. (John / make an order) John...

9. (Tony / tell / an interesting story) Tony...

10 {Julia/have a shower) Julia...

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