Lesson 2: TENSE (Part 2)
I. PAST CONTINUOUS AND PAST PERFECT
Exercise 1. Put the verb into the correct form, past continuous or past simple.
1. Jenny _________ (wait) for me when I ____________ (arrive).
2. “What ____________ (you/do) at this time yesterday?” “I was asleep”.
3. “________________ (you/ go) out last night?” “No, I was too tired”.
4. How fast _______________ (you/drive) when the accident ___________
(happen)?
5. Sam ______________(take) a picture of me while I _____________ (not/look).
6. We were in a difficult position. We _______________ (not/know) what to do.
7. I haven’t seen Alan for ages. When I last ____________ (see) him, he
_____________ (try) to find a job.
8. I _____________ (walk) along the street when suddenly I _____________ (hear)
footsteps behind me. Somebody _______________ (follow) me. I was scared and
I __________ (start) to run.
9. When I was young, I ______________ (want) to be a pilot.
10. Last night, I _____________ (drop) a plate when I _____________ (do) the
washing-up. Fortunately, it _______________ (not/break).
Exercise 2: Use the sentences on the left to complete the paragraphs on the
right. These sentences are in the order in which they happened – so (a)
happened before (b), (b) before (c) etc. But your paragraph begins with the
underlined sentence, so sometimes you need the past perfect.
1 (a) Somebody broke into the office We arrived at work in the morning and
during the night. found that ….somebody had broken…. into
(b) We arrived at work in the morning. the office during the night. So
(c) We called the police. ……………… the police.
2 (a) Laura went out this morning. I went to Laura’s house this morning and
(b) I rang her doorbell. rang her doorbell, but ………………….no
(c) There was no answer. answer. …………………………out.
3 (a) Jim came back from holiday a few d I met Jim a few days ago. ………………
ays ago. just ………….holiday.
(b) I met him the same day. ……………………………….. very well.
(c) He looked very well.
4 (a) Kevin sent Sally lots of emails. Yesterday Kevin …………………………
(b) She never replied to them. …… from Sally. He ………... surprised.
(c) Yesterday he got a phone call from h He……………. lots of emails, but she……
er. …………………….
(d) He was very surprised.
II. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS AND PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS.
Exercise 1: Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets, using
present perfect and present perfect continuous.
1. Tom started reading a book two hours ago. He is still reading it and now he is on
page 53.
…………………………………………….for two hours. (Read)
…………………………………………….53 pages so far. (Read)
2. Rachel is from Australia. She is travelling round Europe at the moment. She began
her trip three months ago.
She ……………………………………………………for three months. (Travel)
…………………………………………………………six countries so far. (Visit)
3. Patrick is a tennis player. He began playing tennis when he was ten years old. This
year he won the national championship again – for the fourth time.
………………………………………………….the national championship four
times. (win)
………………………………………………………since he was ten. (play)
4. When they left college, Lisa and Sue started making films together. They still
make films.
They……………………………………….films since they left college. (make)
…………………………………………five films since they left college. (make)
Exercise 2: Read the situations and make sentences from the words given.
1. We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain.
We…………………………………………………..when………………………..
2. I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20
minutes, I realized that I was in the wrong restaurant.
I …………………………..for 20 minutes when I………………………………
………………………………………the wrong restaurant.
3. Sarah got a job in factory. Five years later the factory closed down.
At the time the factory………………………………….., Sarah ……………….
…………………………………..there for five years.
4. I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten
minutes, a man in the audience suddenly started shouting.
The orchestra ………………………………………………when……………..
………………………………………………………………………………….
