Choose the word or phrase that can be used with the past continuous


Предмет: Английский язык,


автор: Hualing

Ответы

Автор ответа: Olpaper





2

Ответ:

1. to wish

2. to jog

3. to understand

Автор ответа: yuliyaweisberg





1

Ответ:

третья группа не подходит.

Объяснение: данные слова в 3 группе не употребляются в данном времени

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triolana

Choose the verb that can’t be used in the past continuous.
Example 0.
1.to own
2.to build

Answer 0. to own;

1.
to cook
to envy

2.
to type
to need

3.
to fly
to recognize

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Новые вопросы по предмету Английский язык

A. Circle the correct word or phrase.

1   I saw / was seeing Maria for the first time at Ray’s birthday party.

2   Richard watched / was watching TV when the phone rang.

3   When we were on holiday, we went / were going to the café almost every day.

4   Denise practised / was practising the song every day until she could sing it perfectly.

5   The phone was engaged when I called. Who did you talk / were you talking to?

6   Mr Connors owned / was owning two houses and a villa in the south of France.

7   I did / was doing my homework as soon as I got home from school.

8   A car came round the corner and I jumped / was jumping out of the way.

9   When my dad met my mum, he worked / was working as a bus driver.

10   I got / was getting up at six o’clock every morning last week!

11   My cousin and I played / were playing on the computer when there was a power cut.

12   No, that’s not right. I did pass / was passing the test. I got a B.

Answer

1 saw   2 was watching   3 went   4 practised

5 were you talking   6 owned   7 did   8 jumped

9 was working   10 got   11 were playing   12 did pass

B. Complete using the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1   Where ………………………… (you / do) when I saw you on the bus last night?

2   ………………………… (you / enjoy) the film?

3   When we shared a room, Zoe ………………………… (always / take) my things. It was so annoying!

4   When I went to get the tickets, I realised I ………………………… (not / have) any money.

5   When I was young, we ………………………… (go) to France every year on holiday.

6   Elvis ………………………… (become) famous for the song Blue Suede Shoes.

7   When you rang last night, I ………………………… (work) in the garden so I didn’t hear the phone.

8   I ………………………… (hear) from Davina last night. She says hello.

9   The old man ………………………… (appear) to be very tired and he slowly sat down.

10   We ………………………… (throw) a surprise party for my brother last Saturday.

Answer

1 were you going   2 Did you enjoy

3 was always taking   4 did not/didn’t have

5 went   6 became   7 was working

8 heard   9 appeared   10 threw

C. Circle the correct word or phrase.

Dear Lisa,

Thanks for your letter. I (1) just left / had just left for school when I saw the postman and he (2) gave / had given it to me. It was really funny! I (3) read / had read it during maths and it (4) made / had made me laugh. I almost (5) got / had got in trouble!

Anyway, I’m excited because I (6) had / had had my first judo lesson yesterday. I (7) was / had been late for the lesson because when I (8) got / had got there, I suddenly realised I (9) left / had left my judo suit at home! So I (10) went / had gone all the way home and when I (11) got / had got back, the lesson (12) already began / had already begun. The instructor was really nice, though, and I (13) learned / had learned how to do some basic throws. Can’t wait till next time!

What about you and your taekwondo? The last time I (14) spoke / had spoken to you, you (15) talked / had talked about giving it up. What (16) did you decide / had you decided? I think that’s all for now. My mum and I are going shopping shortly, so I’d better post this.

Speak to you soon.

Love,

Charlotte

Answer

1 had just left   2 gave    3 read   4 made

5 got   6 had   7 was   8 got   9 had left

10 went   11 got    12 had already begun

13 learned   14 spoke   15 talked   16 did you decide

D. Complete using the past perfect simple or past perfect continuous of the verbs in the box. You may need to use a negative form.

eat • stay • wait • know • write • see • listen • get • have • run

 By the time he died, Beethoven …………………… nine symphonies.

 We chose the Hotel Rio because we …………………… there before.

 We …………………… for over an hour when the train finally arrived.

 I was completely out of breath because I …………………… .

 I …………………… the film before, so I knew how it ended.

 When he got married, I …………………… Chris for about two years.

 Johnson …………………… ready for the race for six months and finally the big moment came.

 Vivian …………………… computer lessons for very long so she wasn’t sure how to use the Internet.

 Holly …………………… oysters before, so she wasn’t sure what to do with them.

10   I …………………… to my new CD for a few minutes when the CD player started making a funny noise.

Answer

1 had written   2 had stayed   3 had been waiting

4 had been running   5 had seen   6 had known

7 had been getting   8 hadn’t been having

9 hadn’t eaten   10 had been listening

E. Choose the correct answer.

 My brother and I …………… swimming almost every day last summer.

      A   went

      B   had been going

      C   were going

      D   had gone

 We …………… when someone knocked at the door.

      A   talked

      B   had talked

      C   were talking

      D   were talked

 When the robbery happened, the security guard ……………!

      A   slept

      B   was sleeping

      C   had slept

      D   was slept

4   Jack …………… chess before so I showed him what to do.

      A   hadn’t been playing

      B   didn’t play

      C   wasn’t playing

      D   hadn’t played

5   I wasn’t sure how Belinda would react because I …………… her long.

      A   didn’t know

      B   wasn’t knowing

      C   hadn’t been knowing

      D   hadn’t known

6   Ian …………… at the factory long when he was made a manager.

      A   hadn’t been working

      B   wasn’t working

      C   didn’t work

      D   wasn’t worked

 I wanted to say goodbye to Jerry, but he …………… .

      A   was already left

      B   already left

      C   had already been leaving

      D   had already left

 When we got to the airport, I realised I …………… my passport at home!

      A   was left

      B   had left

      C   left

      D   had been leaving

Answer

1 A   2 C   3 B   4 D   5 D   6 A   7 D   8 B

F. Circle the incorrect words or phrases and rewrite them correctly.

1   I had paint on my shoes because I’d painted my bedroom all morning.

     …………………………………..

2   I missed the start of the film because I buy popcorn.

     …………………………………..

3   It was obvious that Bill has worked because he was very tired when I saw him.

     …………………………………..

4   We had been tidying the garden for hours and I was needing a rest.

     …………………………………..

5   When the bus was arriving, we missed it because we were talking.

     …………………………………..

6   During the Christmas holiday, I was eating too much and watching too much TV!

     …………………………………..

7   Julian was learning all about computer games by the time he was six.

     …………………………………..

8   My grandfather was owning a hotel by the beach until he sold it last year.

     …………………………………..

Answer

 I’d painted/I’d been painting

 I buy/I was buying/I had been buying

 has worked/had been working

 was needing/needed

 was arriving/arrived

6   was eating/watching/ate/watched

7   was learning/had learnt/learned

 was owning/owned

G. Circle the correct word or phrase.

1   When she was a girl, my mum would / used to live in a village.

2   I really can’t be / get used to having a new baby brother.

3   People would / are used to die of diseases in the past that we can cure today.

4   There would / used to be a cinema on this corner, but they knocked it down.

5   It was strange at first, but I’m used to play / playing the bagpipes now.

6   Didn’t you use to / be used to have blonde hair?

7   Christopher was being / getting used to the idea of joining the army.

8   People never would / used to be so worried about crime in this area.

Answer

1 used to   2 get   3 would   4 used to

5 playing   6 use to   7 getting   8 used to

H. Complete each second sentence using the word given, so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence. Write between two and five words in each gap.

 People walked more fifty years ago than they do now.   would

     Fifty years ago, …………………………………… than they do now.

 My parents wouldn’t let me stay out late when I was young.   used

     My parents …………………………………… let me stay out late when I was young.

 Did you know that Carol played basketball for her country?   to

     Did you know that Carol …………………………………… basketball for her country?

 Sending messages around the world instantly is no longer unusual.   got

     We …………………………………… messages around the world instantly.

 When he was a teacher, my dad often used to get home quite late.   would

     When he was a teacher, my dad …………………………………… quite late.

 Do you think you could learn to live without your mobile phone?   used

     Do you think you could …………………………………… without your mobile phone?

 In the past, people wouldn’t go as far away on holiday as they do today.   use

     In the past, people …………………………………… as far away on holiday as they do today.

 This town has a lot more cinemas than it had in the past.   used

      This town …………………………………… so many cinemas.

Answer

1   people would walk more

2   never used to/used not to

3   used to play

4   have got used to sending

5   would often get home

6   get used to living

7   did not/didn’t use to go

8   never used to have/used not to have

I. Find the extra word.

Childhood

(1) Childhood would used to be quite different from what it is today. Young (2) people didn’t use not to have so much leisure time. Today’s children may (3) complain about their schoolwork, but our great-grandparents would to go (4) out to work at a very young age. They had often been left school by (5) the time they were fourteen and were found a job. This meant that they (6) have had little free time for hobbies or leisure activities, especially when (7) they had been working hard all day. Of course, they got themselves used (8) to working long hours eventually, but it would meant that they had to (9) grow up very quickly. Today, we are got used to having some free time to (10) do things we enjoy, a luxury people in the past rarely were had.

Answer

1 would   2 not   3 to   4 been   5 were

6 have   7 themselves   8 would   9 got   10 were

J. Write one word in each gap.

The night before

Jane lay awake. She had (1) …………………… preparing for the next day (2) …………………… a long time and now she couldn’t sleep. Her team (3) …………………… playing the local champions at water polo in the final and Jane was the captain. She (4) …………………… feeling the pressure.

She turned over and remembered how she (5) …………………… learned to swim. Her father had taught her. They (6) …………………… go to the local pool every day after school and her father (7) …………………… to show her what to do. She hadn’t liked the water at first, but she soon (8) …………………… used to it. She learned quickly and joined the water polo team. She had (9) …………………… their youngest member!

She quickly got used to scoring goals and (10) …………………… under pressure, but tomorrow was different. It was the biggest match of her life. She closed her eyes again and tried to get to sleep. ‘I (11) …………………… used to have problems sleeping,’ she thought to herself. ‘But then again, I didn’t (12) …………………… to be the captain of the team.’ She watched the clock change slowly and knew that it was going to be a long night.

Answer

1 been   2 for   3 was/were   4 was

5 had   6 would   7 used   8 got   9 been

10 being/swimming   11 never   12 use

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  • English Grammar

Keith Taylor




  • Written by
    Keith Taylor

  • Last updated on 17 June, 2022

  • On this page:
  • Form
  • Meaning
  • Pronunciation
  • Teaching ideas

Form

Affirmative: was/were + present participle (verb + ing)
Negative: wasn’t/weren’t + present participle (verb + ing)

Meaning

  1. Past continuous is used to say that an action was in progress at a particular time in the past. The action had already started at this time but had not finished.
    • I was having dinner at 6pm last night.
    • What were you doing this time yesterday?
  2. Past continuous is used to say that an action was in progress at every moment during a period of time.
    • You were working all morning, weren’t you?
    • I was playing football all day yesterday.
  3. Past continuous is used with past simple. Past continuous refers to a longer or background action that was in progress; past simple refers to a shorter action that interrupted the longer action, or happened in the middle of it.
    • He was walking to work when he met John.
    • She was eating when the phone rang.
    • While I was working in the garden, I heard a woman scream.
  4. Past continuous is used to say that an action in the past was temporary.
    • You were working in the Sales Department last month, weren’t you?
    • They were living in Paris for a year.
  5. Past continuous is used with words such as always to talk about things that happened repeatedly.
    • Grandpa was always telling us funny stories about his life and cracking jokes.

Additional points

  1. Some verbs are not normally used with past continuous because they are not action verbs, for example: believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realise, suppose, want, understand.
    • They knew each other very well – correct
    • They were knowing each other very well – incorrect

Pronunciation

See the phonemic chart for IPA symbols used below.

  1. Was and were are usually reduced to their weak forms in affirmative sentences and questions.
    • I was planning to do it: /wəz/
    • What were they thinking? /wə/

Related grammar points

Past Simple
Present Continuous
Tense and aspect

Keith Taylor

Keith is the co-founder of Eslbase. He has been a teacher and teacher trainer for over 20 years, in Indonesia, Australia, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Poland, France and now in the UK.

Comments

  1. When I’m presenting past continuous for the first time, I usually do a lot of drilling to compare it to the present continuous. The obvious one to start with is:

    Teacher: “John, what are you doing now?”
    Student: “I’m studying English.”
    Teacher: “And what were you doing at 7 o’clock this morning?”
    Student: “I was sleeping.”

    With a lot of drilling and repeating, I find students generally understand the meaning (action in progress at a specific time in the past). Mix up the drills with open and closed questions, first, second, third person and so on. For this you can have students answer questions about other students, about yourself, or you could use flashcards. I usually follow this up with a fairly controlled practice activity like a gap fill exercise.

    Reply

  2. Show your student a short clip with lots of action and less dialogue (e.g. Mr Bean) – it is better if there are two or more people doing things at the same time.

    1. Ask them to write down what they saw. (when viewing)
    2. Ask them to write sentences from the viewpoint of one of the characters, e.g. assume you are Mr Bean!

    I was reading a book when the man opposite started laughing.
    I was covering my ears with socks when the officer came to check my ticket.

    Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZpL02A1EHM

    Reply

    • The Mr Bean Video clip is unavailable. Do you have an alternative URL?

      Reply

      • Search Youtube for “Mr Bean” – there are a lot of videos to choose from.

        Hope that helps!

        Reply

  3. Try The Freeze Game

    1 Split the class into 2 teams.
    2 Teams think of Present Continuous actions.
    3 One team looks away – faces the window.
    4 They count to 5 and then shout Freeze.
    5 While they are counting the other team are doing the action and freeze when told to.
    6 The team facing the window now turn and have 5 guesses to figure out what they were doing. For example:

    They were jumping. They were skipping

    7 They are rewarded points on how quickly they get the answer, 5 points for correct on first guess, 4 points for second guess, etc.

    My kids love this game and they use a lot of the target language and have fun doing it. I personally let them choose their own actions but for weak classes it might be helpful if you provide the actions.

    Reply

  4. I always ask my students questions related to real and outstanding past events. For example:

    “What were you doing when the Twin Towers were destroyed?”

    Everybody, without a doubt, will remember what they were doing and get the meaning of the past continuous use.

    Reply

  5. I make up some cards that have present continuous and past simple sentences on them. For example, one card may say:

    You are talking on the phone.

    Another card may say:

    You knocked on the door.

    For this activity, I have 12 cards that have past simple sentences and 36 with present continuous (48 cards in total). I divide the cards into two piles. One pile contains all 12 of the past simple sentences plus 12 present continuous sentences. The other pile contains the rest of the 24 present continuous cards.

    I then tell the students that they need to number their paper from 1-15. I call two students to come forward (student A and student B). Student A selects a card from one pile and student B from the other. The students act out their card and the rest of the class write down the sentence. For Example, let’s say student A draws the card:

    You are cooking.

    and student B draws the card

    You called. (telephone)

    Student A starts by acting out cooking dinner and at some point Student B interrupts the action student A is doing and the rest of the class would write on their paper:

    When … was cooking dinner, … called him.

    Obviously, student A and student B need to consult briefly beforehand so as to know who goes first, but they should do so without revealing anything to the rest of the class.

    Reply

  6. Drawing pictures on the board, in my opinion is a great way to show how this verb form works. Two pictures. For example: a man fishing, first action, then same picture with rain. You can label the first action which must have was/were + verb-ing. Second action past tense verbs. Try to start with regular verbs for the past tense action, or the second action. For example:

    The man was fishing when it started to rain.

    Reply

  7. I draw a building with eight floors. I have flash cards with actions. Each student has to pick a card and put it on a floor. They say what the people in the flash cards are doing. Then I tell them that an earthquake happens. They have to say what the people were doing when the earthquake happened… highlight on board “was/were” and the “ing” form.

    Reply

  8. I have a question. I would be happy if you answer me.
    “She saw me fall in.”
    In this sentence why we use fall instead of falling in? Can’t we use falling in here ? Please tell me why?

    Reply

  9. Students will be reading a book. ( Rewrite the sentence in past continuous tense)

    Reply

    • Students were reading a book.

      Reply

  10. Hello everyone,
    I’m trying to finish my TEFL methodology assignment using the past continuous interrupted and my tutor has asked me to ‘highlight the intonation change after the joining word.’ I’m not sure if I fully understand what he wants as surely it depends on which aspect is being stressed. Any help or ideas PLEASE! Thanks in advance.

    Reply

    • Yes, I would have said it depends on that too. Can you post the sentence you’re using as an example?

      Reply

Add a comment

Need to get TEFL qualified?

The past continuous and continuous forms, in general, are used with action verbs such as talk, drive, play, etc. The continuous form is not used with stative verbs such as ‘be’, ‘seem’, ‘taste’, etc. Some stative verbs can be used as action verbs so there are some exceptions. For example, ‘smell’ — It smelled good. (stative verb) / He was smelling the roses when she walked by the window (action verb.)​

Positive Form

Subject + to be (was, were) + present participle (ing form of verb) + objects:

Jane was typing the letter when he walked into the room.
They’re were discussing the problem at 11.

Past Continuous Negative Form

Subject + to be (was, were) + not + verb + objects

Jack wasn’t watching TV. He was cooking dinner.
We weren’t wasting time! We were working hard.

Past Continuous Question Form

(Question Word) + to be (was, were) + subject + present participle (ing form of verb)?

What were you doing at seven o’clock?
Was Jennifer paying attention during the meeting?

Past Continuous Usage

The past continuous is used to talk about what was happening at a specific moment in the past.

Alex was knitting a sweater at 10:30 yesterday morning.
My friends were waiting for me at nine o’clock.

The past continuous is also often used together with the past simple to express what was happening when something important occurred.

They were working on the project when she burst into the room.
I was thinking about him when the telephone rang. Guess who it was?!

Important Time Expressions

These time expressions are commonly used with the past continuous to express a past action occurring at a specific moment in the past.

At/At that Moment

‘At’ and ‘at that moment’ refer to a specific point of time in the past. These two expressions are often used with the past continuous. It is more common to use the past simple to speak in general, but if you want to express what was happening at a precise moment of time in the past, use the past continuous.

She was having breakfast at 6.45 this morning.
We were working on his request at 10 pm.
Alan wasn’t meeting with Tom at 9. He was meeting with Dennis.

When/As

‘When’ is used with the past simple to express an important event that occurred in the past. The past continuous is used to express what was happening at that moment.

They were getting ready when he came home.
Alice wasn’t thinking when she said that.
What were you doing when he asked the question?

While

‘While’ is used with the past continuous to express something that was happening at the same moment in time that something else was occurring.

During

‘During’ is used with a noun or a noun phrase to express an event during which something was happening.

I was typing while he was dictating.
She wasn’t paying attention during the meeting.
Jackson was working while she was having a good time.

Past Continuous Worksheet 1

Conjugate the verb in parentheses in the past continuous tense. In the case of questions, use the indicated subject as well.

  1. What _____ (you do) when he arrived?
  2. She _____ (watch) TV at two o’clock.
  3. They _____ (not sleep) at five o’clock.
  4. Peter _____ (work) when I telephoned.
  5. Tim _____ (study) German while they were studying French.
  6. I _____ (not pay attention) during the presentation.
  7. _____ (Brian talk) during the lesson?
  8. We _____ (not cook) when he walked in the door.
  9. Jason _____ (play) the piano at three o’clock yesterday afternoon.
  10. When _____ (Howard give) the presentation exactly?
  11. Andrea _____ (not expect) you to arrive so early!
  12. What _____ (you think) when you said that?!
  13. _____ (she do) the housework when you telephoned?
  14. Carlos _____ (drink) tea when I walked into the room.
  15. They _____ (meet) with Smith and Co at exactly 2.35 pm.
  16. My cousin _____ (not have) a good time when I arrived.
  17. They _____ (discuss) the issue when she telephoned.
  18. _____ (they work) in the garden when you arrived?
  19. She _____ (sleep) so he entered the room softly.
  20. They _____ (not take) notes during the presentation, but paying attention to every word.

Past Continuous Worksheet 2

Choose the correct time expression used with the past continuous tense.

  1. What were you doing (while/during) the meeting?
  2. Tim was finishing the report (in/at) five o’clock.
  3. They were discussing the problem (when/at) I walked into the room.
  4. Jackson wasn’t listening (while/during) he was explaining the situation.
  5. Was Alice paying attention (while/during) the presentation?
  6. They were having a quiet breakfast (this/at) morning when he arrived.
  7. What were they doing (when/in) that happened?
  8. Sheila was playing the piano (while/during) he was working on the computer.
  9. I was working at the computer (at/on) seven o’clock this morning.
  10. Alex wasn’t playing golf (this/at) morning. He was working.
  11. What were they doing (in/at) four o’clock?
  12. She was working quietly (when/for) he opened the door.
  13. Peter wasn’t doing the housework (that/yesterday) morning. He was working in the garden.
  14. Where were they sleeping (at/when) he got home last night?
  15. Jason was thinking about the problem (when/at) he asked for an answer.
  16. Our teacher was explaining math (from/when) he burst into the room with the news.
  17. Dilbert was working at the computer (on/at) four o’clock this morning!
  18. Were they listening (as/at) he asked the question?
  19. She wasn’t working (when/in) he came into the office.
  20. They weren’t thinking about that (at/when) they made the decision.

Answers Worksheet 1

  1. were you doing
  2. was watching
  3. weren’t sleeping
  4. was working
  5. was studying
  6. wasn’t paying attention
  7. was Brian talking
  8. weren’t cooking
  9. was playing
  10. was Howard giving
  11. wasn’t expecting
  12. were you thinking
  13. Was she doing
  14. was drinking
  15. were meeting
  16. wasn’t having
  17. were discussing
  18. Were they working
  19. was sleeping
  20. weren’t taking

Answers Worksheet 2

  1. during
  2. at
  3. when
  4. while
  5. during
  6. this
  7. when
  8. while
  9. at
  10. this
  11. at
  12. when
  13. yesterday
  14. when
  15. when
  16. when
  17. at
  18. as
  19. when
  20. when

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