Exercise 1
Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets.
1) I was very tired when I arrived home.
(I / work / hard all day) ________
2) The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired.
(they / play / football) ________
3) I was disappointed when I had to cancel holiday.
(I / look / forward to it) ________
4) Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn't know where she was.
(she / dream) ________
5) When I got home, Mark was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off.
(he / watch / a film) ________
Show answers
1)
1 I’d been working hard all day.
2 They'd been playing football. / They had been playing …
3 I'd been looking forward to it. / I had been looking forward …
4 She'd been dreaming. / She had been dreaming.
5 He'd been watching a film. / He had been watching …
Exercise 2
Read the situations and complete the sentences.
1) We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain.
We ________ when ________ .
2) I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 minutes
I realised that I was in the wrong restaurant.
I ________ for 20 minutes when I ________ the wrong restaurant.
3) Sarah got a job in factory. Five years later the factory closed down.
At the time the factory ________, Sarah ________ there for five years.
4) I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly started shouting.
The orchestra ________ When ________
This time make your own sentence:
5) I began walking along the road. I ________
when ________
Show answers
2)
1 We had been playing for half an hour when it started to rain.
2 I'd been waiting for 20 minutes when I realised that I was in the wrong restaurant. or … that I had come to the wrong restaurant.
3 At the time the factory closed down, Sarah had been working there for five years.
4 The orchestra had been playing for about ten minutes when a man in the audience started shouting.
5 Example answer:
I'd been walking along the road for about ten minutes when a car suddenly stopped just behind me.
Exercise 3
Put the verb into the most suitable form, past continuous (I was doing ), past perfect (I had done ) or past perfect continuous (I had been doing ).
1) It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours ________ (have) a party.
2) We were good friends. ________ (we / know) each other for years.
3) John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because ________ (he / walk) so fast.
4) Sue was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. ________ (she / run).
5) When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full. ________ (they / eat).
6) When I arrived} everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty, but their stomachs were full. ________ (they / eat).
7) James was on his hands and knees on the floor. ________ (he / look) for his contact lens.
8) When I arrived, Kate ________ (wait) for me. She was annoyed because I was late and ________ (she / wait) for a long time.
9) I was sad when I sold car. (I / have) it for a very long time.
10) We were extremely tired at the end of the journey. ________ (we / travel) for more than 24 hours.
Show answers
3)
1 were having
2 We’d known
3 he was walking
4 She'd been running / She had been running
5 They were eating
6 They'd been eating / They had been eating
7 He was looking
8 was waiting … she'd been waiting / she had been waiting
9 I'd had / I had had
10 We'd been travelling / We had been travelling