Beruflich Dokumente
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Often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g. "The sun was
shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The other
animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly.
She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was watching her
through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running towards the river..."
to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action, e.g.
"I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've
decided to get my homework done instead."
with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g. "I was wondering if you could baby-sit
for me tonight."
EXAMPLES
They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
Note: with verbs not normally used in the continuous form, the simple past is used.
FORMING THE PAST CONTINUOUS
The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb "to be"
(was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.
Subject
was/were
base + ing
They
were
watching
was
reading
wasn't
reading
she
reading?
she
reading?
Affirmative
She
Negative
She
Interrogative
Was
Interrogative negative
Wasn't
Signal words tell you what tense you have to use. In the Past Progressive we often use a period
of time. A typical signal word is while. The Past Progressive is frequently used in sentences
together with the Simple Past.
while (In this part of the sentence we usually use Past Progressive.)
While we were watching TV, Andy was surfing the internet.
when (In this part of the sentence we usually use Simple Past. The Past Progressive is used in
the other part of the sentence.)
The ladies were talking when the accident happened.
Past Progressive - Spelling
Be careful with some words when adding -ing to the infinitive.
1) consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word
Double the consonant.
4) verbs ending in -c
Change 'c' to 'ck'.
picnic - he was picnicking
Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).
1. When I phoned my friends, they (play)
monopoly.
dinner.
4. I (practice)
5. We (not / cycle)
all day.
in the
pool.
7. I tried to tell them the truth but they (not / listen )
yesterday?
10. I (listen)
in the park.
12. We (study)
TV.
cards.
1) Julie
Check
Show Answ er
2) You
Check
Show Answ er
3) Luke
Check
Show Answ er
4) I
Check
Show Answ er
5) They
Check
Show Answ er
6) John
Check
Show Answ er
7) We
Check
Show Answ er
8) He
Check
Show Answ er
9) You
Check
Show Answ er
10) We
Check
Show Answ er
Check
Show Answ er
12) Mr Black
murder happened..
Check
Show Answ er
Check
Show Answ er
14) You
Check
happened..
15) Dr Ford
Show Answ er
murder happened..
Check
Show Answ er
Check
Show Answ er
17) Mr Blue
Check
Show Answ er
Check
Show Answ er
19) I
happened..
20) The dogs
Check
Show Answ er
murder happened..
Check
Show Answ er
Write down the ing form of the following words. Mind the exceptions in spelling.
1.
live
2.
run
3.
give
4.
swim
5.
lie
6.
sit
7.
travel
Decide whether to use 'was' or 'were'.
1.
Boris
learning English.
2.
They
3.
Your father
4.
5.
You
6.
My friends
7.
It
8.
The dog
9.
The children
10.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Bob was walking home because his car had a flat tire.
8.
9.
10.
1.
monopoly.
w ere playing
2.
dinner.
3.
4.
I (practise)
5.
We (not / cycle)
6.
in the
pool.
7.
8.
9.
yesterday?
in the park.
live
2.
stay
3.
run
4.
win
5.
cycle
Complete the table in past progressive.
positive
negative
It was raining.
question
Was I listening?
We
dancing.
2.
The dog
3.
The printer
4.
The pupils
writing a test.
5.
barking.
2.
she / home / go
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
we / tea / drink
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
phone
2.
fly
3.
swim
4.
chat
5.
die
Complete the table in past progressive.
positive
negative
He was shouting.
question
2.
You
3.
The birds
4.
The teacher
5.
The water
having dinner.
rushing down the street.
sitting in the tree.
pointing to the board.
dripping on the floor.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
share
2.
tidy
3.
shut
4.
dial
5.
lie
Complete the table in past progressive.
positive
negative
question
The pirates
2.
We
3.
The candle
4.
The cat
5.
The mice
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
Jill / dance
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
Marvin (come)
and (check)
3.
4.
Nobody (listen)
5.
While we (do)
, Amely (watch)
a documentary on TV.
home, (switch)
on the computer
his emails.
into the house, (steal)
the jewels
without a trace.
while the teacher (explain)
a sight-seeing tour, our friends (lie)
beach.
6.
He (wake)
up and (look)
at his watch.
Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).
the tenses.
on the
1.
3.
4.
My father (come)
in, (look)
and (tell)
5.
them to
to walk home.
.
around
me to tidy up my room.
about.
7.
Martha (turn)
to bed.
Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).
1.
We (wait)
the corner.
2.
I (cycle)
3.
He (pass)
4.
I (fall)
5.
around
a strange noise.
TV last night.
frisbee.
on the toilet.
Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).
1.
I (jog)
2.
Robert (fall)
3.
Archimedes (discover)
he (take)
4.
my way.
cherries.
a bath.
When we (travel)
nice people.
5.
While she (speak)
6.
When I (leave)
7.
Caroline (burn)
some very
over.
.
her clothes.
Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).
1.
2.
3.
He (ask)
4.
5.
I (watch)
6.
(be)
7.
Yes, I (be)
8.
(hear / you)
9.
anything anymore.
Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).
1.
2.
B: I (sit)
3.
A: I (drive)
yesterday at 8 pm?
in the pub with Sam. Why?
to the sports centre at that time to play squash with a few
friends. As we (be)
5.
A: I actually (want)
I (dial)
my mobile?
to ring your mobile, but by accident
Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or past progressive).
1.
When I (do)
2.
a plate.
broke
the washing-
up.
3.
He (drink)
4.
I (have)
a few chips.
a loud bang.
5.
by to see him.
6.
She (go)
and (begin)
7.
When it (start)
8.
to school, (take)
to learn.
to rain, our dog (want)
to come inside.
Blarney Castle.
9.
When I (be)
10.
I (not / understand)
an accident.
about.
Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).
1.
When I (get)
2.
It (is)
3.
So I (decide)
4.
I (go)
5.
While I (cycle)
a beautiful morning.
to cycle around a little.
to the shed and (take)
their gardens.
6.
One man (mow)
out my bike.
some people in
strawberries.
7.
After one hour of cycling in sunshine, a big fat raincloud
suddenly (appear)
and it (start)
to rain.
8.
9.
While it (rain)
me and (tell)
outside, I (sit)
me to come in.
in the farmer's house.
10.
11.
I (thank)
out again.
on.