Past Perfect Continuous ( I had been doing) Exercises

UNIT 22 Exercises

22.1   Read the situation and then write a sentence.

Example: The two boys came into the house. One had a black eye and the other had a cut lip. (they/fight) They had been fighting.

1.   Tom was watching TV. He was feeling very tired.(he/study/hard all day) He___________________________________________

2.   When I walked into the room, it was empty. But it smelled of cigarettes.
 (Somebody/smoke/in the room) Somebody_______________________________________________

3.   When Mary came back from the beach. she looked very red from the sun.(she/lie/in the sun too long)__________________________________________________

4.   The two boys came into the house. They had a football, and they were both very tired.
(they/play/football)________________________________________________

5.   Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened, and she didn't know where
she was, (she/dream)_______________________________________________

22.2   Read the situation and then write a sentence.

Example: We began playing football. After half an hour there was a terrible storm.
We had been playing for half an hour when there was a terrible storm.

1.   The orchestra began playing at the concert. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly began shouting.
The orchestra_____________________________________for about ten minutes when_________________________________________________

2.   I had arranged to meet Sue in a cafe. I arrived and began waiting. After 20 minutes l realized that I had come to the wrong cafe.       
I_______________________________________________when I_____________________________________________________

3.   Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins went to live in the south of France. Six months later Mr. Jenkins died.
They______________________________________________when____________________________________________________


22.3   Put the verb into the correct form: past perfect continuous (I had been doing) or past continuous (I was doing).

Examples: Sue was leaning against the wall, out of breath. she had been running. (run)
I tried to catch Sue but I couldn't. She was running (run) very fast.

1.   Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He was_________________________(look) for his
contact lens.

2.   We________________________________(walk) along the road for about 20 minutes when a car stopped and the driver offered us a lift.

3.   When I arrived, everyone was sitting around the table with their mouths full. They________________________________(eat).

4.   When I arrived, everyone was sitting around the table and talking. Their mouth
were empty but their stomachs were full. They______________________________________(eat).

5.   When I arrived, Ann___________________________________ (wait) for me. She was annoyed because I was late, and she_____________________________________________(wait) for a very long time.

Past Perfect Continuous ( I had been doing)

UNIT 22 Past Perfect Continuous.

A.   Study this example situation: 
 
Yesterday morning I got up and looked out the window. The sun was shining, but the ground was very wet.

It had been raining.

It wasn't raining when I looked out the window;  the sun was shining. But it had been raining. That's why the ground was wet.

Had been raining is the past perfect continuous tense:

I/he/she (etc.) had (=I'd/he'd/she'd, etc.) been doing.

Here are some more examples:

• When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was a mess, and one had a black eye. They had been fighting.

• I was very tired when I arrived home. I'd been working hard all day.

B.   You can use the past perfect continuous to say how long something had been happening before something else happened:

• The soccer game had to be stopped. They had been playing for half an hour when there was a terrible storm

• Ken had been smoking for 30 years when he finally gave it up.

C.   the past perfect continuous ( I had been doing) is the past of the present perfect continuous (I had been doing). Compare:

Present                                                                                     Past
How long have you been waiting?(until now)                How long had you been waiting                   He's out of breath. He has been                                           when the bus finally came?
running.                                                                                 He was out of breath. He had been running.

D.   Compare the past perfect continuous (I had been doing) with the past continuous (I was
doing)

• when I looked out the window, it had been raining. (=It wasn't raining when I looked out; it had stopped.

• When I looked out the window, it was raining. (= Rain was falling at the time looked out.)

E.   Some verbs (for example, know) cannot be used in the continuous form.

Past Perfect ( I have done ) Exercises

UNIT 21 Exercises

21.1   Complete these sentences using the verbs in parentheses( . . . ). You went back to your home
town after many years, and you found that many things were different.
 
Example: Most of my friends were no longer there. They had left (leave)

1.   My best friend, Kevin, was no longer there. He_________________(go) away.

2.   The local movie theater was no longer open. It_________________(close) down.

3.   Mr. Johnson was no longer alive. He__________________(die)

4.   I didn't recognize Mr Johnson. She___________________(change) a lot

5.   Bill no longer had his car. He______________________(sell) it


21.2   Complete these sentences as in the example. Use the verb in parentheses.

Example: Mr. and Mrs. Davis were in an airplane. They were very nervous as the plane took off because they (never/fly) had never flown before.

1.   The woman was a complete stranger to me. (never/see) I_________________________before

2.   Margaret was late for work. Her boss was very surprised. (never/be/late) she______________________________________

3.   Jane played tennis yesterday-at least she tried to play tennis. She wasn't very good at it because she (never/play)_________________________________________

4.   It was Carl's first driving lesson. He was very nervous and didn't know what to do (never/drive) He_________________________________________


21.3    Make sentences using the words in parentheses.
Example: I wasn't hungry. (I/just/have/lunch) I had just had lunch.

1.   Tom wasn't home when I arrived. (l/just/go/out)__________________________________

2.   We arrived at the theater late. (the movie/already/begin)___________________________________

3.   They weren't eating when I went to see them, (they/just/finish/their dinner)_______________________________________________

4.   I invited Ann to dinner last night, but she couldn't come. (she/already/make plans/to do something else)________________________________________________

5.   I was very pleased to see Diane again after such a long time, (I/not/see/her for five years)___________________________________________________________


21.4   Put the verb into the correct form: past perfect (I had done) or simple past (I did)

Examples: "Was Tom there when you arrived?" "No, he had gone(go) home."
''Was Tom there when you arrived?''       ''Yes, but he went (go) home soon afterward''

1.   The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody_________________(go) to bed

2.   I felt very tired when I got home, so I___________________(go) straight to bed

3.   Sorry I'm late. The car____________________(break) down on my way here.

4.   There was a car by the side of the road. It______________________(break) down and the driver was trying to repair it. So we____________________(stop) to see if we could help.

Past Perfect ( I had done )

UNIT 21 Past Perfect (I had done)

A.   Study this example situation:

I went to a party last week. Tom went to the party too. Tom home 10:30. So, when I arrived at 11:00, Tom wasn't there.

When I arrived at the party, Tom wasn't there. He had gone home.

This is past perfect (simple) tense:

I/he/she (etc.) had (=I'd/he'd, she'd, etc.) gone
I/he/she (etc.) hadn't gone
had you/he/she (etc.) gone?


We form the past perfect with had + the past participle (gone/opened/written, etc.).

Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past:

• I arrived at the party.

We use the past perfect to say that something had already happened before this time:

• When I arrived at the party, Tom had already gone home.

Here are some more examples:

• When I got home, I found that someone had broken into my apartment and had stolen my fur coat.

• George didn't want to come to the movies with us because he had already seen the film twice.

• It was my first time in an airplane. I was very nervous because I had never flown before.

B.   The past perfect (I had done) is the past of the present perfect (I have done) Compare these situations:

Present                                                                             Past
I'm not hungry. I've just had lunch                            I wasn't hungry. I'd just had lunch
The house is dirty. We haven't                                    The house was dirty. We hadn't
cleaned it for weeks.                                                     cleaned it for week.


C.   Compare the past perfect (I had done) and the simple past (I did)

• ''Was Tom there when you arrive?''    ''No, he had already gone home.''

   but: "Was Tom there when you arrived?"  ''Yes, but he went home soon afterward.''

• Ann wasn't home when I called her. She was at work.

   but: Ann had just gotten home when I called her. She had been at work.

Present Perfect or Simple Past Exercises

UNIT 20 Exercises

20.1   Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong.

Examples: Have you heard? Suzanne has gotten married!                        RIGHT.
                    The Chinese have invented printing.                                         WRONG-invented

1.   Who has written the play Hamlet?                                                          ___________

2.   Aristotle has been a Greek philosopher.                                                  ___________

3.   Ow! I've cut my toe. It's bleeding.                                                            ____________

4.   My grandparents got married in Canada.                                                ____________

5.   Einstein was the physicist who has developed the theory of relativity.           _____________

6.   Abraham Lincoln was President of the U.S. rom 1861 to 1865.          ____________

7.   The U.S. has bought Alaska from Russia in 1867.                                   ____________

8.   Helen bought a new car two weeks ago.                                                 ____________

9.   Have you visited many museums when you were in Paris?               ____________

10.   When did you give up Smoking?                                                            ____________

11.   My bicycle isn't here. Somebody has taken it.                                     _____________

12.   I haven't eaten anything yesterday because I  haven't been hugnry.             ______________


20.2   Make sentences using the words given.
Examples: (I/smoke/20 cigarettes yesterday) I smoked 20 cigaretees yesterday.
(how many cigarettes/you/smoke/today?) how many cigarettes have you smoked today?


1.   (I/be/ sick twice so far this year) I______________________________________

2.   (how many times /be/ you/sick last year?) How many times_________________________________

3.   (I/not/drink/any coffee so far today)____________________________________________

4.   (he/be/late three times this week)____________________________________________

5.   (how many games/the team/win last season?)_________________________________________

6.   (how many games/the team/win so far this season?)_____________________________________


20.3   Put the verb into the correct form: present perfect (I have done) or simple past (I did)

Example: I didn't play (not/play) golf when I was on vacation last summer.

1.   Mr. Clark______________(work) in a bank for 15 years. Then he gave it up.

2.   George lives in Athens. He____________________(live) there all his life.

3.   Bob and Alice are married. The______________________(be) married for 20 years.

4.   When we were on vacation, the weather___________________(be) terrible.

5.   The weather______________________(be) very nice lately.

6.   My grandfather died 30 years ago. I______________________(never/meet) him.

7.   I don't know Carol's husband. I________________________(never/meet) him.

Present Perfect or Simple Past?

UNIT 20 Present perfect (I have done) or simple past (I did)?

A.   It is often possible to use the present perfect (I have done) or the simple past (I did):

I've lost my key. Have you seen it anywhere?
or I lost my key. Did you see it anywhere?

But do not use the present perfect to say when something happened (for example, yesterday, two years ago, when I was a child, etc.). Use a past tense in these sentences:

• I lost my key yesterday. (not have lost)

• Did you see the movie on TV last night? (not have you seen)

• I ate a lot of candy when I was a child. (not have eaten)

Use a past tense to ask when or what time something happened:

• What time did they arrive? (not have they arrived)

• When were you born? (not have been born)

B.   Do not use present perfect (I have done) for happenings and actions that are not the connected with the present (for example, historical events):

• The Chinese invented printing. (not have invented)

• How many symphonies did Beethoven compose? (not has . . . composed)

C.   Now compare these sentences:
Present perfect (I have done)                                               Simple past (I did)
I've smoked 20 cigarettes today.                                       I smoked 20 cigarettes yesterday.

Today is a period of time that continues                           Yesterday is a finished time the
up to the present. It is not a finished                                   past. So we use the simple past.
time. So we use the present perfect.

Dan hasn't been sick this year                                           Dan wasn't sick last year.
Have you seen Ann this morning?                                    Did you see Ann this morning?                     (It is still morning)                                                                 (It is now afternoon.)
Have you seen Ann recently?                                             Did you see Ann last week?
We've been waiting for an hour. (We are                          We waited (or were waiting) for an
still waiting.)                                                                           hour. (We are no longer waiting.)
Pierre has lived in Quebec for six years                            Pierre lived in Quebec for ten years.
(He still lives there.)                                                              (He no longer lives there.)
I have never played golf (in my life).                            I didn't play golf when I was on vacation       .                                                                                                  last summer.

The present perfect always has a                                        The simple past tells us only about
connection with the present.                                                the past.

Present Perfect with how long; Simple Past with when; since and for Exercises

UNIT 19 Exercises

19.1   Write questions with how long and when.

Example: It is raining. (how long/it/rain?) How long has it been raining?
                 (when/it/start/raining?) when did it start raining?

1.   Ann is studying Italian.
(how long /she/study/Italian?)_________________________________________________
(when/she/begin/studying Italian?)__________________________________________________

2.   I know Tom.
(how long/you/know/Tom?)___________________________________________________
(when/you/first/meet/Tom?)____________________________________________________

3.   Glen and Mary are married.
(how long/they/be/married?)___________________________________________________
(when/they/get/married?)___________________________________________________


19.2   Put in since or for.

Example: Tom and I have known each other   for  six months.

1.   It's been raining __________ I got up this morning.

2.   Randy's father has been a policeman ___________ 20 years.

3.   Have you been studying English ___________ a long time?

4.   __________ Christmas, the weather has been quite mild.

5.   Janet has been on vacation ___________ three days.

6.   That's a very old car. I've had it ___________ ages.


19.3   Make a new sentence beginning in the way shown.

Examples: I know Liz. I first met her six months ago. I have known her for six months.
                    It's been raining since 2:00. It started raining at 2:00

1.   Maria's sick. She got sick three days ago. She has_________________________________________
 
2.   We have been married for five years. We got__________________________________________

3.   Jim has a beard. He grew it ten years ago. He has__________________________________________

4.   She has been in France for three weeks. She went_________________________________________

5.   He has had his new car since February. He bought_________________________________________



19.4   Imagine that two people are talking. Make sentences with It's. . . since. . .

Example: A: Do you take a vacation very often? (no/five years)
                  B: No, it's been five years since I took a vacation

1.   A: Do you eat in restaurants very often? (no/six months)
      B: No, it________________________________________________________

2.   A: Does it now here very often? (no years)
      B: No,__________________________________________________________

3.   A: Do you go swimming very often? (no/a long time)
      B:______________________________________________________________

Present Perfect with how long; Simple Past with when, since and for

UNIT 19 Present Perfect with how long; Simple Past with when, since and for. 

A.   Use the simple past (I did) to ask or say when something happened:

A:   When did it start raining?
B:   It started raining at one o'clock/an hour ago.
A:   When did Joe and Carol first meet?
B:   They first met when they were in college/a long time ago

Use the present perfect (I have done/I have been doing) to ask or say how long something has been happening (up to the present):
 
A:   How long has it been raining?
B:   It's been raining since one o'clock /for an hour.
A:   How long have Joe and Carol known each other?
B:   They've known each other since they were in college/for a long time.


B.   Since and for

We use both since and for to say how long something has been happening:

I've been waiting for you since 8 o'clock.
I've been waiting for you for two hours.

We use since when we say the beginning of the period (8 o'clock)
We use for when we say the period of time (two hours)

                 Since                                                                            for

8 o'clock               1977                                      two hours                 a week.
Monday                 Christmas                            ten minutes              five years
May 12                   lunchtime                           three days                 a long time
April                       we arrived                          six months                ages

*   She's been working here since April. (=from April until now)
     She's been working here for six months. (not since six months)

*   I haven't seen Tom since Monday. (=from Monday util now)
     I haven't seen Tom for three days. (not since three days)

We do not use for in expressions with all (all day/all morning all week all my life, etc.):
 

• I've lived here all my life. (not for all my life)

C.   Note the structure How long has it been since. . . ?:

• A: How long has it been since you had a vacation?
• B: It's been (=it has been) two years since I  had a vacation (= I haven't had a vacation for two years.)

• It's been ages since Aunt Helen visited us. (= She hasn't visited us for ages.)

Past continuous ( I was doing ) Exercises

UNIT 12 Exercises

12.1   Here is a list of some things that Ann did yesterday (and the times at which she did them):

1.  8:45-9:15  had breakfast                              4.  12:45-1:30 had lunch

2.  9:15-10:00 read the newspaper                  5.  2:30-3:30 washed some clothes

3.  10:00 12:00 cleaned her apartment           6.  4:00-6:00 watched TV

Now write sentences saying what she was doing at these times:

1. At 9:00 she was having breakfast.                4. At 1:00__________________________________

2. At 9:30 she________________________________        5. At 3:00__________________________________

3. At 11:00____________________________________       6. At 5:00__________________________________


12.2   A group of people were staying in a hotel. One evening the fire alarm went off. Use the words in parentheses to make sentences saying what each person was doing at the time.
Example: (Don/take/a bath) Don was taking a bath

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

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

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

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


12.3   Make sentences from the words in parentheses. Put the verbs into the correct form: simple past (I did) or past continuous (I was doing).

Example: (I/fall/asleep when I/watch/TV).  I fell asleep when I was watching TV

1.  (the phone /ring/while I/ take a shower)   The phone_______________________________________

2.  (it/begin/to rain while I/walk home)    __________________________________________________

3.  (we/see/an accident while we/wait/for the bus)_________________________________________________


12.4  Put the verb into the correct form: past continuous or simple past.

Example: While Tom was caaking. (cook) dinner, the phone_____________(ring)

1.  George_____________(fall) off the ladder while he________________(paint) the ceiling.

2.  Last night I____________(read) in bed when suddenly I______________(hear) a scream.

3.  __________________(you/watch) TV when I called you?

4.  Ann______________(wait) for me when I______________arrive

5.  I___________________(not/drive) very fast when the accident_________________(happen)

6.  I________________(break) a plate last night. I_________________(wash) the dishes when it (slip) out of my hand.

7.  Tom_________________(take) a picture of me while I_________________(not/look)

8.  We________________(not/go) out because it________________(rain)

9.  What_________________(you/do) at this time yesterday?

10.  I___________________(see) Carol at the party. She________________(wear) a new dress.

Past Continuous ( I was doing )

UNIT 12

A.  Study this example situation:
Yesterday Dave and Jim played tennis. They began at 10:00 and finished at 11:00.

What were they doing at 10:30?
They were playing tennis (at 10:30).

"They were playing" means that they were in the middle of playing tennis. They had started playing, but they hadn't finished.

This is the past continuous tense:

I/he/she                  was     }    playing
we/they/you         were    }    playing
 

We use the past continuous to say that someone was in the middle of doing something at
a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time but hadn't finished:

• This time last year I was living in Brazil.

• What were you doing at last night?

B.  The past continuous not tell us whether an action was finished or not. Perhaps it was finished, perhaps not. Compare:

• Dan was cooking dinner. (past continuous) = He was in the middle of cooking dinner and we don't know whether he finished cooking it.

• Dan cooked dinner. (simple past) He began and finished it.

C.  We often use the past continuous (I was doing) and the simple past (I did) together to say that something happened in the middle of something else:

• Dan burned his hand while he was cooking dinner.

• I saw Jim in the park. He was sitting on the grass and reading a book.

• It was raining when I got up.

• While I was working in the garden, I hurt my back.

But to say that one thing happened after another, use the simple past.

• Last night Sue was taking when the phone rang. She got out of the bathtub and answered the phone.

Compare:

• When Helen arrived, we were having dinner. (past continuous)= We had already started dinner before Helen arrived.

• When Helen arrived, we had dinner. (simple past)= Helen arrived and then we had dinner.

UNIT 11 Simple past Exercises

UNIT 11 Exercises

11.1  Read a sentence about the present and then write a sentence about the past.

Example: Carol usually gets up at 7:30. Yesterday she got up at 7:30.

1. Carol usually wakes up early. Yesterday morning___________________________________________

2. Carol usually walks to work. Yesterday______________________________________________

3. Carol is usually late for work. Yesterday______________________________________________

4. Carol usually has a sandwich for lunch. Yesterday___________________________________________

5. Carol usually goes out in the even. Yesterday evening____________________________________________

6. Carol usually sleeps very well. Last night______________________________________________

11.2  Put one of these verbs in each sentence:

hurt          teach           spend           sell           throw         fall          catch           buy          cost

Example: I was hungry, so I bought something to eat at the store.

1. Tom's father_____________ him how to drive when he was 17.

2. Daniel_________________down the stairs this morning and his leg.

3. We needed some money, so we_______________our car

4. Anne_______________a lot of money yesterday. She_____________a dress that $80.

5. Jim_____________the ball to Sue, who_____________it.



11.3   Write questions. A friend has just come back from vacation and you are asking about it.

Examples where/go?  Where did you go?
                  food/good? Was the food good?

1. how long /stay there?__________________________________________________

2. stay in a hotel?_________________________________________________

3. go alone?_______________________________________________

4. how/travel?__________________________________________________

5. the weather/nice?__________________________________________________

6. what/do in the evenings?__________________________________________________

7. meet any interesting people?____________________________________________________

11.4   Put the verb into the correct form. Use the simple past.

Example: I didn't go(not/go) to work yesterday because I wasn't (not/be) well.

1. Tom________________(not/shave) this morning because he_______________(not/have) time.

2. We_________________(not/eat) anything because we______________(not/be) hungry.

3.  I__________________(not rush) because I________________(not/be) in a hurry.

4. She________________(not/be) interested in the book because she_________________(not/understand) it.

Simple past ( I did )

UNIT 11 Simple past (I did)

Study this example:

Tom: Look! It's raining again.
Ann: Oh no, not again. It rained all day yesterday too.

Rained is the simple past tense. We use the simple past to talk about actions or situations in the past.

• I enjoyed the party very much.

• Mr. Brown died ten years ago.

• When I lived in Athens, I worked in a bank.

Very often the simple past ends in -ed:

• We invited them to our party, but they decided not to come.

• The police stopped me on my way home last night.

• She passed her exam because she studied very hard.

But many important verbs are irregular. This means that the simple past does not end in -ed:
 
leave---->left           We all left the party at 11:00.

go---->went              Last month I went to Rome to see a friend of mine.

cost---->cost            This house cost $75,000 in 1980.


The past of the verb be (am/is/are) is was/were:

  I/he/she/it was                               we/you/they were
I was angry because                      Tom and Ann were late.

In simple past questions and negatives we use did/didn't  + the base form (do/open, etc.)

it rained                    did it rain?                  it didn't rain

Ann: Did you go out last night, Tom?
Tom: Yes, I went to the movies. But I didn't enjoy it.

• When did Mrs. Johnson die 

• What did you do over the weekend?

• We didn't invite her to the party, so she didn't come.

• Why didn't you call me on Tuesday?

Note that we normally use did/didn't with have:

• Did you have time to write the letter?

• I didn't have enough money to buy anything to eat.

But we do not use did with the verb be (was/were)

• Why were you so angry?

• Was Mark at work yesterday?

• They weren't able to come because they were very busy.