2.5. The past continuous tense

Past Continuous образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to be в форме прошедшего времени (was, were) и формы причастия настоящего времени смыслового глагола: I was working, we were working.

Утвердительная форма	Отрицательная форма	Вопросительная форма
I was working You were working He was working She was working It was working We were working You were working They were working	I was not (wasn’t) working You were not (weren’t) working He was not (wasn’t) working She was not (wasn’t) working It was not (wasn’t) working We were not (weren’t) working You were not (weren’t) working They were not (weren’t) working	Was I working? Were you working? Was he working Was she working Was it working Were we working? Were you working? Were they working?

СЛУЧАИ УПОТРЕБЛЕНИЯ:

Выражает длительное действие, происходившее в определенный момент в прошлом.

Этот момент может быть обозначен:

а) точным указанием времени – at four o’clock, all day (night) long весь день (всю ночь),

from five to six с пяти до шести часов и т.д.

He was writing his exercise at five o’clock. Он писал упражнение в пять часов.

It was raining in the morning. Утром шел дождь.

в) другим прошедшим действием, выраженным глаголом в Past Simple.

It was raining when I left the house. Шел дождь, когда я вышел из дому.

was raining - действие в процессе (шел дождь) – Past Continuous

left - однократное действие (вышел) - Past Simple .

As I was coming here I met your brother. Когда я шел сюда, я встретил

вашего брата

I burnt my finger while I was cooking Я обжёг палец в то время как

a pizza. готовил пиццу.

Ex. 72. Make up sentences as in the example.

The whole day yesterday I was busy. (write an article) I was writing an article.______

1. We were in the country on the weekend. (fish)

2. At 10 o’clock yesterday I was at home. (clean the flat)

3. Yesterday afternoon we were at the stadium. (play football)

4. On Sunday I was in the library. (prepare for my exam)

5. From 10 till 12 on Sunday Victor was busy. (repair the TV set)

6. At 11 a.m. on Saturday I was at the University. (write a test)

8. All day long yesterday I was out. (work in the garden)

9. At 7 o’clock yesterday evening we were still at the office. (have a meeting)

10. On Friday morning I was at work. (make an experiment)

11. On Sunday afternoon I stayed at home. (repair my car)

12. We were at the discos all night long. (dance)

13. We stayed at home the whole day yesterday. (rain)

14. They were not in Minsk the whole week. (travel)

Ex. 73. Yesterday was a very unlucky day for Tom Brown. What happened to him?

He fell off the ladder His jeans split He burnt his hand The TV screen went blank The tyre burst He found his passport His pen ran out He bit his tongue

while

he was writing a cheque. he was tidying his room. he was climbing over the fence. he was having breakfast. he was taking the meat out of the oven. he was turning a corner. he was watching the news. he was painting the ceiling.

Ex. 74. My neighbours spend all the weekends on the dacha. Now they are telling how

much they were working all day long yesterday.

He: Yesterday I ________________(dig) the ground all the morning.

She: And I ___________________(water) the flowers all the morning.

They

together: All the afternoon we ___________________ (plant) cucumbers. After that we

___________________(plant) potatoes.

She: All evening long we ____________(sit) on the terrace and ___________(drink) tea.

I ______________(read) “Gone with the Wind” and he _______________(watch) TV.

Ex. 75. Put the verbs in brackets into past simple or past continuous.

1. When I ____________(come) home, my little sister ____________________(sleep).

2. When Kate _________(open) the door, the children_____________(dance) round the fir-tree.

3. He__________________ (read) on the sofa when Jill ____________ (come) in and

______________ (sit) down beside him.

4. She _________________(look) out of the window when I_______________ (see) her.

5. I ________________(walk) along the street with my friend when a tram _________(pass).

6. When I __________________(wash) the floor, I __________ (find) my old toy under the sofa.

7. When granny __________________ (read) a book on the sofa, she ____________(fall) asleep.

8. When Nick ___________(ring) me up yesterday, I __________________(help) my mother.

9. When Mike _____________________(play) in the yard, he _______________(find) a ball.

10. When I _______________(prepare) breakfast in the morning, I ___________(cut) my finger.

11. When I __________________(go) to the stadium, I _______________(meet) Kate and Ann.

12. When we ________________ (walk) up the hills it suddenly ______________(start) raining.

13. When they _______________(sail) down the river, they ______________(see) a little island.

14. I _______________(play) the piano when my mother ______________(ask) me for dinner.

Ex. 76. Put the verbs in brackets into past simple or past continuous.

1. I lit the fire at 6.00 and it _____________ (burn) brightly when Tom came in at 7.00.

2. You looked very busy when I ___________(see) you last time.

3. I _________________ (make) a cake when the light went out..

4. When we were in the country last summer I _____________(go) to the wood every day.

5. He _____________ (watch) TV when the phone rang.

6. They _______________(meet) at the station two hours ago.

7. We ___________________(discuss) the latest news from three till four yesterday.

8. I ________________(clean) my teeth and _________________ (go) to bed.

9. My dog ________________ (walk) along quietly when Mr Pitt's Pekinese attacked him.

10. When I arrived she __________________ (have) lunch.

11. I ______________(begin) repairing my camera at six o’clock yesterday.

12. He _____________ (play) the guitar outside her house when someone opened the window

and _____________ (throw) out a bucket of water.

13. When my father ________(come) home yesterday, my mother ____________(make) supper.

14. Rate __________(not go) for a walk yesterday. She _____________(write) a composition

the whole day.

15. My friend ______________(invite) me to the cinema and I _______________(accept) his

invitation with pleasure.

16. When I _____________ (look) for my passport I _____________ (find) this old photograph.

17. When I _____________(go) to school yesterday, I ________(meet) Mike and Pete. They

______________(talk) and ____________(laugh). They told me a funny story. Soon I

______________(laugh), too. I still _______________(laugh) when we __________(come)

to school. After school I ____________(tell) this story at home. My father and mother

_______________(like) it very much.

Ex. 77. Open the brackets. Use past simple or past continuous.

1. I ______________(open) the shutters and_______________ (look) out. The car

__________________________(stand) where I had left it.

2. Suddenly I ____________(realize) that they _______________(not /pay) attention to me any

longer. They _____________________(mutter) something and all_________________ (look)

in the same direction. I ____________(turn) my head and __________________(look) where

they all ______________________(look). A man ___________________(come) slowly down

a steep little street that ______________________(lead) uphill between the house on my right.

3. On my left I ____________(see) the lights of the first house of the village. And I __________

(hurry) towards it through the wood when a sudden flash of light __________(make) me stop.

4. At that time I _______________________(look) for the job.

5. Miss Nobs ____________(not /see) him leave the house. At half past four she _____________

(make) herself a cup of tea in a small recess off the main corridor.

6. The idea first_______________ (occur) to me that afternoon as I _______________________

(back) the car into the garage.

7. I probably ____________(drop) the key when I ___________________(fish) for small change

in my bag at the news-stand.

8. All through the night I _______________(hear) them work, open drawers, drag cases over

the floor. They ______________________ (pack).