1 Grammar Exercises. Situations and Drills

1.1 Learn to use the Past Continuous and the Past Indefinite (Simple) Tenses.

Was/Were Doing ... Did

While During

While For

Illustrative Situations:

a) Mr. Smith got to the railway station early. He sat in the waiting-room for a while. Then they called out his train and he went to his train.

He was sitting in the waiting-room when they called out his train. He went to the train when they called it out.

Questions:

1) What did Mr. Smith do when he got to the railway station?

2) What was Mr. Smith doing when they called out his train?

3) What did he do when they called out his train?

b) After breakfast when the children were at school and her husband was at work Mrs. Johnson decided to make a new dress for her daughter Ann. She was busy cutting the cloth when the telephone rang. She picked up the receiver.

Mrs. Johnson was cutting the cloth when the telephone rang. She picked up the receiver when the telephone rang.

Questions:

1) What did Mrs. Johnson do after breakfast?

2) What was she doing when the telephone rang?

3) What did Mrs. Johnson do when the telephone rang?

1.1.1 Practise in making the sentences of your own. Follow the model given below.

Model: Home/my old friend = I was waiting for a telephone call at home when my old friend came.

Prompts:

1) a shower / a telephone

2) supper/a telegram

3) at the tram stop / rain

4) a lesson / the dean

5) letters / the boss

6) a dress / arrive

7) a test / the bell

8) a poem / mother

9) English words / friends

10) football / rain

1.1.2 Study the situations. Ask and answer only ‘What was ... doing?’ questions for all of them.

1) Simon worked in the garden but his wife called him. He went into the house.

2) Mr. Black came home from his office, had supper and began to read the newspaper, but then his friend came and they began to discuss the last football match.

3) Peter turned on television and began to watch the hockey match but then his wife came and they watched the match together.

4) Lucy and David played tennis after a day’s work. They enjoyed the game when suddenly it started to rain heavily.

5) Jim came to the bank of the river. He began fishing when he saw a man’s hat floating down the river.

6) Kate had a day-off. She made some washing and cleaning. She began to iron her dress but then her mother came and they had dinner.

7) Yesterday, when I started down Shevchenko Street, I met Olga, an old friend of mine.

8) My father went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He took out a bottle of milk and began to open it when it suddenly fell down on the floor.

9) Nelly started doing her first sketch when she remembered that she had no more paper.

10) Everyone tried to find some job in the Blacks’s home last Sunday. Sam began to repair the washing-machine and little Danny was with him, Sindy tried to make a blouse for herself when their grandparents suddenly arrived.

1.1.3 Learn to use the words ‘While’ and ‘During’ in the sentences. Notice what is used after them. Don’t confuse these words.

Examples: Bill went out during the film.

Bill came in while we were watching the film.

Model: The play = During the play

I was watching = While I was watching.

Prompts:

1) the performance 6) mother was cooking

2) Ben was reading 7) the English lesson

3) Kate was driving 8) the break

4) the game 9) building the factory

5) the film 10) the holiday

1.1.4 Make sentences with both ‘While’ and ‘During’ for these situations. Notice the tense that we use with ‘While’ in the example.

Situation: We had a picnic yesterday. It began to rain in the middle of it.

It began to rain during the picnic.

It began to rain while we were having a picnic.

1) Billy played with the cat yesterday. It the middle of the game a large dog appeared near them.

2) Bob played football with his classmates yesterday. In the middle of the game he broke the glass in the kitchen window.

3) I turned the radio and listened to the concert of the pop music. In the middle of it the telephone rang.

4) Tom watched the hockey match the day before yesterday. It was the second period of the match. Suddenly the light went off.

5) On Friday the class had a geography lesson. In the middle of it the door opened and the headmaster came in.

6) Mother was cooking dinner for her family. Everything went wrong that day! She cut her finger and broke her favourite plate.

1.1.5 Use Past Indefinite or Past Continuous of the verbs in brackets. Remember that Past Continuous is used to indicate that two activities were continuing at the same time.

Was / Were. Doing ... Was / Were Doing

(While)

Helen’s Dream

Helen: I (have) a wonderful dream last night! I (dream) that I (not do) any homework! You (do) it all instead of me. I (dream) that while. I (lie) in the sun and (visit) the most fashionable shops, you

(work) in the garden! While I (relax) in the bath, you (iron) the shirts! While I (swim) in the pool, you (wash) the floor! While I (watch) TV, you (cook) dinner and supper! While I (read) detective stories, sitting in the comfortable arm chair, you (clean) the house! Wasn’t that a marvellous dream?

Bill: And while you (dream), I have an even better one. I (dream) that you (repair) that old car this weekend.

1.1.6 Think of something that happened while you and your friend were doing something yesterday, last week, at the weekend, etc. Follow the model.

Model: While we were waiting for the bus a man came up and asked the way to the nearest post-office.

Prompts:

1) have supper / break the favourite cup;

2) write the test / forget the words;

3) retell the text / make some mistakes;

4) shop / meet an old friend;

5) read a book / make notes;

6) walk through the park / meet some of the groupmates, etc.

1.1.7 Translate the sentences from Russian into English. Do this at speed.

1) Бил смотрел футбольный матч по телевизору, когда пришел его друг.

2) Олег Петрович работал в саду, когда начался сильный дождь.

3) Мальчик учил английские слова, когда его мама вернулась домой.

4) Лена просматривала журналы и делала записи, пока ее подруги обсуждали последние модели одежды.

5) Я слушала лектора внимательно, пока они разговаривали.

6) Я переводила статью с английского, когда позвонила моя сестра.

7) Мама готовила обед, когда дети вернулись из школы.

8) Отец ремонтировал телевизор, а мальчики играли с собакой.

9) Шел дождь в то время, когда он делал домашнее задание.

10) Она шила новую блузку, когда пришла ее подруга.

1.2 Make sure that you don’t confuse Present Perfect and Past Indefinite. Complete the sentences given below.