Past Continuous

Use

1) action in the middle of happening at a stated past time

e.g. He was playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday.

2) past action in progress interrupted by another past action. The longer action is in the Past Continuous, the shorter action is in the Past Simple.

e.g. While I was get­ting dressed the bell rang.

3) two or more simultaneous past actions

e.g. While I was sunbathing, Tim was swimming.

or background description to events in a story

e.g. She was flying to Parнs. The sun was shining...

Time expressions: while, when, as etc

11.1* Underline the correct form:

1. While he took / was taking a bath, Archimedes discovered / was discovering the principles of density and buoyancy.

2. When Edouard Benedictus, a French scientist, worked / was working in his laboratory, he dropped / was dropping a glass bottle which had some plastic inside – and invented / was inventing safety glass.

3. Columbus arrived / was arriving in America while he tried / was trying to reach the Far East.

4. Alexander Fleming discovered / was discovering penicillin by accident while he looked / was looking at some old experiments.

5. While Hiram Bingham climbed / was climbing in the mountains of Peru in 1911, he discovered / was discovering the lost city of Macchu Picchu.

6. While Isaac Newton sat / was sitting under an apple tree, an apple fell / was falling on hishead, and he understood / was understanding gravity.

7. While Dr Harry Coover tried / was trying to invent a newkind of plastic, he made / was making a very softsubstance which stuck / was sticking things together. It was Superglue.

8. While he observed / was observing the Moon throughhis telescope, Galileo realized / was realizing that it hadmountains and craters.

11.2A* Use the prompts to make a question. The answers are in Exercise 11.1:

e.g. Where / Edouard Benedictus / work when he invented safety glass? – Where was Edouard Benedictus working when he invented safety glass?

1. Where / Columbus / try to go when he reached America?

2. Where / Isaac Newton / sit according to the story about gravity?

3. What / Dr Harry Coover / hope to invent?

4. What Galileo / look at / through his telescope?

11.2B* Complete the sentence with the past continuous form of the verb in brackets. The sentences refer to Exercise 12.1:

1. Edouard Benedictus (not try) _____________ to invent safety glass.

2. Alexander Fleming (not hope) _______________ to discover penicillin.

3. Hiram Bingham (not look for) ____________ the lost city of Macchu Picchu.

4. Isaac Newton (not sit) ____________ in his study when he understood gravity.

5. Dr Harry Coover (not conduct) ____________ an experiment to discover a kind of glue.

Grammar quiz: Simple and Continuous

What do you know about verbs?
1.	How do we form the past tense of these verbs: help, want, enjoy, finish, love Which of the above verbs is the odd one out? Can you give examples of any other verbs like this?
2.	What is the past tense of these verbs? feel, teach, win, go, have, take, meet
3.	What is the difference between the verbs in questions 1 and 2 above?
4.	Some verbs are not normally used in the continuous tenses. Can you give examples?
5.	How do we spell the following verbs in the past simple form? travel, stop, marry, study
6.	How do we spell the following verbs in the continuous form? win, travel, stop, run
7.	How do we write these words in the third person singular (he / she / it) form of the present simple? finish, wash, watch, do
8.	How do you make the following sentences negative? I play in the football team. She won the school cup. He was watching the game of tennis. My friend is a lawyer. What is the difference between the first two sentences and the last two?
9.	How do you make the sentences above into questions?
What do you know about frequency adverbs and time expressions?
10.	Put the adverb “currently” into this sentence: I am studying for a Master’s.
11.	Complete the rule: Adverbs are usually placed _________ the verb.
12.	Look at the following expressions. Do they describe present time, a point in the past time, a specific year, a sequence of actions? Last year was my first year as a notary. In 2000 I wanted to spend time with my children. They were 2 and 3 years’ old at that time. But after a year I was ready to go back to work. After I finished university in 2009, I travelled round Europe. Nowadays I work as a manager.
Common mistakes
13.	Below are examples of typical learner mistakes. Find and underline them: I’m playing computer games in my free time. She like music. Last night I study English for three hours. At the moment I do my homework. Everybody love holidays. Now correct the mistakes.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-19