6. Ask the questions and give responses to them.

Teacher: Ask your fellow-student if he/she was doing his/her grammar exercises between nine and ten yesterday.

Student 1: Were you doing your grammar exercises between nine and ten yesterday?

Student 2: Yes, I was.

Ask you fellow-student:

if the students were asking or answering questions during the lesson;

what games they were playing the whole day yesterday;

with whom he/she was having some practice in spelling between five and six o’clock yesterday afternoon;

what the students were doing all the time while teacher was marking their dictations;

when he/she was going to write to his/her parents.

Note. The Past Continuous of the verbs to expect, to intend, to hope, to plan, to mean may be used to show that the planned action was not carried out, e.g. I was meaning to go there.

Note. The Past Continuous is used to denote an action thought of as continuous process generally characterizing the subject. In this case the adverbs always, constantly, continually, for ever, etc. are used. The Past Continuous in this use is often to be found in emotional speech.

e.g. She was constantly laughing as she was always trying to attract attention at all costs.

7. Pracise aloud after the teacher and comment on the use of the Past Continuous.

1. Tom was always putting off some difficult work to the very last moment.

2. I was always forgetting the simplest things in the exams.

3. She was always smiling, we couldn’t take her seriously.

4. Ann was always busily taking notes of the lectures, that’s why she couldn’t hear when e tried to speak to her.

8. Say it in English.

A) 1. Постійно йшов сніг, і ми не могли кататися на ковзанах. 2. Джейн завжди уважно слухала лекції і вела конспекти. 3. Всі студенти відвідували лекції з літератури з великим задоволенням. 4. Він постійно ставив питання, на які було важко відповісти. 5. Боб завжди робив багато помилок у письмових роботах. 6. Том часто забував найпростіші речі на екзаменах.

B)1. – Ви когось чекали вчора до обіду? – Так. Мою сестру з донькою та чоловіком. Ми чекали їх на третю годину. 2. Він абсолютно не вміє себе поводити. Він завжди перебиває співбесідника. 3. Було пізно, темніло. Ми поверталися додому. Коли ми підійшли до будинку, у дворі ще грали діти. 4. Поки студенти готувалися до відповіді, екзаменатор переглядав їх письмові екзаменаційні роботи. 5. – Чому ти посміхалася, коли твоя маленька сестра ввійшла до кімнати? – Тому що на ній були мої туфлі на високих підборах. 6. Яку передачу ви вчора дивилися по телевізору о 9 годині вечора? – Ми дивилися передачу «У світі тварин». 7. Цей студент погано відповідає. – Нема нічого дивного, він постійно пропускав заняття в минулому семестрі. 8. Він мав намір перекласти цю статтю вчора, але в нього зовсім не було часу.

The past simple versus past continuous

Lead-in

1. Explain the use of the Past Continuous and the Past Simple in the following sentences:

1. Little Jerry was enjoying Mary’s birthday party and didn’t want to go home.

2. It was getting dark at 6 a.m.

3. It was raining heavily as the sun was disappearing.

4. I looked at my husband. Then I took my suitcase and went out.

5. Lunch was over. Theo was smoking a cigarette. Barbara was sitting on the window seat with a book in her hands.

6. In my childhood I often stayed with my aunt when my parents had a business trip abroad.

7. My father was no longer working as I entered the room.

8. They spent their holidays in Switzerland last winter.

9. It was raining the whole day yesterday, that’s why we couldn’t go out.

10. I was driving along a country road when I spotted a telephone box.