The past tenses

1. Read part of the Alibi, a radio play. What tense is used here? Find the examples.

[Ding-dong!

Sanders: Coming!

Officer: Officer Barker. City Police. I'd like to ask you a few questions.

Sanders: Sure. Sorry I took so long. I was taking a shower when the bell rang.

Officer: Is your wife home?

Sanders: No, she's at work. Eve's a manager at Ligo Diamonds. She was very upset when she heard about the burglary.

Officer: Was your wife working that night?

Sanders: No, she wasn't. We were staying at Cypress Ski Lodge when it happened. Don't tell me we're suspects!

Officer: Just for the record, what were you and Mrs. Sanders doing between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. last Friday?

Sanders: We were having dinner in our room.

Officer: Were you still eating at 7:00?

Sanders: No. My wife was making a call from her cell phone.

Officer: What were you doing while your wife was talking?

Sanders: I was watching Wall Street Watch.

Officer: Hmm . . . But the electricity was out because of the blizzard.

2. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

1. In which sentence do we know that the diamond necklace is gone?

a. He was stealing a diamond necklace.

b. He stole a diamond necklace.

2. Which sentence tells us that the people arrived at the mountains?

a. They were driving to the mountains.

b. They drove to the mountains.

3. Which sentence talks about an interruption?

a. When the phone rang, he answered it.

b. When the phone rang, he was looking for the safe.

4. Which sentence talks about two actions that were in progress at the same time?

a. While the officer was questioning Sal, Eve was leaving town.

b. When the officer questioned Sal, Eve left town.

5. In which sentence did the friends arrive before lunch began?

a. When our friends arrived, we were eating lunch.

b. When our friends arrived, we ate lunch.

3. Look at the picture (pic. 3) of the suspects in last Friday afternoon's burglary. Write about them. Use the past progressive.

1. He _______________ (wear / a hat) 2. She ________________ (wear / a hat) 3. They _________________ (wear / sunglasses) 4. They _________________ (wear / gloves) 5. She __________________ (smile) 6. She __________________ (hold / a cell phone) 7. They _________________ (sit / outside) 8. They _________________ (eat)

Pic 3

4. Complete the conversation with the simple past tense or the past progressive form of the verbs in parentheses.

Reporter: What was the cause of the accident, Officer?

Officer: Well, it looks like there were many causes. First of all, when the accident occurred (occur) the driver was driving (drive) much too fast. The driver is a suspect in a burglary, and she ___________ (leave) town. While she ___________(drive), she ___________ (speak) to someone on her car phone. When she ___________ (see) the pedestrian, she immediately __________ (step) on the brakes, but it was too late. The victim wasn't paying attention, either. First of all, he didn't wait for the traffic light to change. He ___________ (cross) against a red light when the car ___________ (hit) him. He ___________ (not see) the approaching car because he ___________ (talk) to his friend. The friend wasn't paying attention, either. He ___________ (eat) an ice cream cone while he ___________ (cross) the street. When he ___________ (notice) the car, he

___________ (try) to push his friend out of the way, but it was too late.

Reporter: How is the victim doing?

Officer: Well, when the ambulance ___________(arrive), he ___________ (bleed) from a head wound, but the doctors stopped the bleeding and they think he'll be OK.

5. The police are questioning another suspect in last Friday’s burglary. Read this suspect's answers. Use the words in parentheses and the past progressive or simple past tense to write the police officer's questions.

1. police: What were you doing Friday night? (What / do / Friday night?)

suspect: I was visiting a friend.

2. police: ___________________________ (Who / exactly / you visit?)

suspect: My girlfriend. I got to her house at 5:30 and drove her to work.

3. police: ________________________________ (she / work / at 7:00?)

suspect: Yes, she was working the late shift.

4. police: __________________________ (anyone else / work / with her?)

suspect: No. She was working alone.

5. police: ______________________ (What / you / do / while /she/ work?)

suspect: I was reading the paper in her office.

6. police: But there was a terrible blizzard Friday night. The lights went out.

_______________________________ (What / do / when / lights go out?)

suspect: I was still reading the paper.

7. police: ________________________ (What / do / when / lights go out?)

suspect: When the lights went out, we left the building.

8. police: __________________ (Why / run / when / the police / see you?)

suspect: We were running because we wanted to get out of the storm.