Practical Grammar I

TENSE FORMS 2
PAST SIMPLE & PAST CONTINUOUS
PAST SIMPLE

The past tense of the verb to be

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I/he/she/it was I/he/she/it was not (wasn’t) Was I/he/she/it?
you (singular)/we/you (plural)/they were you/we/you/they were not (weren’t) Were you/we/you/they you?

We DO NOT use didn’t in negatives and did in questions with was/were.

e.g. She was a student. She was not (wasn’t) a student. Was she a student? Yes, she was. No, she wasn’t.
They were students. They weren’t students. Were they students? Yes, they were. No, they weren’t.

1 Complete the dialogues with was, wasn’t, were or weren’t.

a) A: …………… you and Susan at the party last night? B: Yes, we …………… . A: …………… it good? B: No,
it …………… . The music …………… awful. Where …………… you? A: I …………… ill.
b) A: Where …………… you born? B: I …………… born in Australia in 1947. A: …………… your parents
Australian? B: No, they ……………. . My mother …………… Italian and my father …………… Greek.

Forms
Affirmative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they worked/wrote
Negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they did not work/write
didn’t work/write
Interrogative: Did I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they work/write?

Spelling
Verbs ending in e add d only: love – loved, improve – improved.
The rules about doubling the final consonant when adding ing apply also when adding ed: stop – stopped,
travel – travelled.
Verbs ending in y following a consonant change the y into i before adding ed: carry – carried, study –
studied.
Verbs ending in y following a vowel do not change: obey – obeyed.

Use
• complete actions or events which happened at a stated past time: She sold her car last week.
• complete past actions not connected to the present with an implied time reference: Shakespeare wrote at
least 36 plays.
• past habits or states: He rode his bike to school every day when he was a child.
• past actions which happened one immediately after the other: She woke up, got out of bed and made a cup
of tea.

Time expressions usually used with the past simple tense: yesterday, last week, two/five months/years ago, then,
in 1998/2005, etc.

2 Put the verb in brackets into the past simple.

a) ………………………… (you/go) out last night?

Yes, I ………………………… (go) to the cinema, but I ………………………… (not/enjoy) the film much.
b) Don ………………………… (fall) down the stairs this morning and ………………………… (break) his leg.
c) ………………………… (the weather/be) good when you ………………………… (be) on holiday?
d) How many times ………………………… (she/go) to the theatre last month?
e) The window ………………………… (be) open and a bird ………………………… (fly) into the room.
f) Paul and I played tennis yesterday. He’s much better than me, so he ………………………… (win) easily.

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g) Where ………………………… (you/be) last night? I ………………………… (call) you a few times, but
nobody ………………………… (answer) the phone.
h) The bed ………………………… (be) very uncomfortable, so I ………………………… (not/sleep) very well.
i) Ann ………………………… (spend) a lot of money yesterday. She ………………………… (buy) a dress
which ………………………… (cost) £200.
j) I ………………………… (see) Rose in town a few days ago. We ………………………… (stop) and
………………………… (have) a chat.

PAST CONTINUOUS
Forms
Affirmative: I/he/she/it was working you/we/they/you were working
Negative: I/he/she/it was not working you/we/they/you were not working
wasn’t working weren’t working
Interrogative: Was I/he/she/it working? Were you/we/they/you working?

Use
• actions in the middle of happening at a stated past time: This time last week I was travelling across Africa.
• a past action in progress interrupted by another past action; the longer action is in the past continuous, the
shorter is in the past simple: I was taking a shower when I heard the phone ring.
• two or more simultaneous past actions of certain duration: I was washing up while he was drying the
dishes.
• background description to events in a story/narration: A wood fire was burning on the hearth, and the cat
was sleeping in front of it. Suddenly she heard a loud noise…

Time expressions usually used with the past continuous tense: while, when, as, the moment that, etc.

3 Complete the sentences with the past continuous.

a) This time last week we ………………………… (travel) across Africa.
b) She ………………………… (take) a shower when she heard the phone ring.
c) What ………………………… (you/do) yesterday at 5p.m.?
d) I ………………………… (not/watch) the TV; I ………………………… (work).
e) ………………………… (it/rain) when you left home?

4 Put the verb in brackets into the past simple or the past continuous.
1) He ………………………… (sit) on the bank fishing when he ………………………… (see) a man’s hat
floating down the river. It ………………………… (seem) familiar.
2) It ………………………… (snow) heavily when he ………………………… (wake) up. He
………………………… (remember) that Jack ………………………… (come) for lunch and decided to go
down to the station to meet him in case he ………………………… (lose) his way in the snowy lanes.
3) When I ………………………… (reach) the street, I ………………………… (realise) that
I ………………………… (not/know) the number of Tom’s house. I ………………………… (wonder) what to
do about it when Tom himself ………………………… (tap) me on the shoulder.
4) ’What ………………………… (you/do) between 9.00 and 10.00 yesterday?’ ………………………… (say) the
detective.
‘I ………………………… (clean) my house,’ said Mrs Jones. ‘I always clean my house on Saturday mornings.’
5) The dentist’s waiting room was full of people. Some of them ………………………… (read) magazines, others
………………………… (just/turn) over the pages. A woman ………………………… (knit); a child
………………………… (play) with a toy car. Suddenly the door ………………………… (open) and the nurse
………………………… (say), ‘Next, please.’
6) The house next to yours ………………………… (be) full of policemen and police dogs yesterday.
What ………………………… (they/do)?
I ………………………… (hear) that they ………………………… (look) for drugs.
………………………… (they/find) any?
Yes, I believe one of the dogs ………………………… (discover) some cannabis.
7) Ann works in the branch where the big robbery ………………………… (take) place.
………………………… (she/actually/work) there at the moment of the raid?

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8) How ………………………… (you/break) your leg?
I ………………………… (fall off) a ladder when I ………………………… (put up) curtains. The worst of it
………………………… (be) that it ………………………… (happen) before the holiday.
9) What ………………………… (you/do) when the doorbell ………………………… (ring)?
I ………………………… (make) a cake.
And what ………………………… (you/do) when you ………………………… (hear) the bell?
I ………………………… (go) to answer it of course. But when I ………………………… (open) the door there
………………………… (be) nobody there.
10) We ………………………… (not/get) much sleep last night because the people next door
………………………… (have) a noisy party. I ………………………… (ring) up the landlord and
………………………… (say) that his tenants ………………………… (make) too much noise. He
………………………… (point out) that it ………………………… (be) Saturday and that people often
………………………… (have) parties on Saturday nights. I ………………………… (say) that the people in his
house ………………………… (always/have) parties.
Used to – Be/Get used to + ing form/noun/pronoun – Would – Was/Were going to
Used to expresses past habitual actions and permanent states. (Note that stative verbs are not used with
‘would’.) He used to wake up at 6 am every day. (also: would wake up) They used to live in a flat. (not:
would live)
Would expresses past repeated actions and routines – not states. When I was young, I would go for a walk
before breakfast. (also: I used to walk)
Be/Get used to expresses habitual actions and means ‘be/get accustomed to’, ‘be in the habit of’. She isn’t
used to staying up late at night. She is getting used to working under pressure.
Was/Were going to expresses actions one intended to do but didn’t. She was going to buy a new watch,
but unfortunately she couldn’t afford one.
Form
Affirmative: He used to buy a newspaper every day.
Negative: He didn’t use to buy a newspaper every day.
Interrogative: Did he use to buy a newspaper every day?

5 Underline the correct form. In some sentences both forms are possible.
1) Every day the young prince would go / used to go hunting in the forest.
2) Wild animals would sometimes come / sometimes used to come into the garden at night.
3) I would enjoy / used to enjoy computer games, but I have grown tired of them.
4) My mother would often play / often used to play the piano and sing after dinner.
5) I would own / used to own a racing bike, but I sold it and bought a scooter.
6) Tony would believe / used to believe that one day he would be famous.
7) When I was a student I would usually go / usually used to go to bed at 1 am.
8) Helen would live / used to live in an old boat on the canal.

6 Complete the sentences using the words in bold. Use two to five words.
1) Sally went to ballet classes three times a week. go
Sally …………………………………………………………… three times a week.
2) It was my intention to phone you last night, but I forgot. going
I …………………………………………………………… you last night, but I forgot.
3) Lying on the beach all day is an unusual experience for me. used
I …………………………………………………………… on the beach all day.
4) When I was young, I used to visit my grandmother every day after school. would
When I was young …………………………………………………………… every day after school.
5) Paul lived in Brazil when he was a child. live
Paul …………………………………………………………… in Brazil when he was a child.
6) He meant to make a cup of tea but he had run out of teabags. was
He …………………………………………………………… a cup of tea but he had run out of teabags.
7) I don’t think I’ll ever find it easy to eat with chopsticks. used
I don’t think I’ll ever …………………………………………………………… with chopsticks.
8) Rosa didn’t like English food at first, but now she quite likes it. got
Rosa didn’t like English food at first, but now she …………………………………………………………… it.