Past Continuous

7. Match the words in the box with the pictures. Write 18 in the boxes.

1. crisps
2. traffic lights
3. wig
4. cats eyes
5. typewriter
6. biro
7. hair dye
8. TV

8. Read the texts. What do you think each person invented? Choose from the
objects in exercise 7.
9.

complete stories and check your answers.

It was 1933 and Percy Shaw,
from England, was driving home
at night along a dark road. He
was worried because it was
raining and he couldnt see very
well. Then he saw something in
the middle of the road.

In 1853, in a restaurant in New

York, people were having dinner.
A man was eating fried potatoes,
but he didnt like them. He called
for the cook and told him that
potatoes were too thick. The
cook, George Crum, got angry.

In the 1920s in Scotland, John

Logie Baird and a friend were
talking on the phone. Baird thought
the telephone was an amazing
invention. While he was listening to
his friend, he began to think, Id
really like to invent a machine like
this but for the eye, not for the
ear.

In 1907, a French chemist called

Eugene Schueller was talking to a
woman in his shop. She was getting
older and her hair was going grey.

In 1935, in a newspaper office in

Budapest, a young Hungarian reporter
was writing a story for the next day. He
was unhappy with his pen because
while he was writing, he had to stop
many times to fill it with ink. And so he
started to think.

a. answer the questions.

1. What did Percy Shaw see in the middle of the road?
_____________________________________________________.
2. Why was George Crum surprised?
_____________________________________________________.
3. Why was the French woman unhappy?
_____________________________________________________.
4. What was the young Hungarians family name?
_____________________________________________________.

10. Look at the examples.

Pency Shaw was driving home at night
people were having dinner
a. Underline other examples of the past continuous in the texts on pages 19
and 20. Then read the rule and complete the table.

11. Which sentences best describe the drawings.

Negative

Interrogative

I/he/she/it

I/he/she/it ________

________ I/he/she/

________ working

(was not) working

it working?

you/we/they

you/we/they werent

________ you/we/

________ working

(were not) working

they working?

Affirmative

Short answer
Yes, I/he/she/
_______.
No, I/he/she/
_______ (was not).
Yes, you/we/they
_______.
No, you/we/they
_______ (were not).

We use the past continuous to talk about:

a. An action happening in the past when another action interrupted it.
b. An action in progress at a certain time in the past.
c. Two or more actions which were happening simultaneously in the past.

12. What were they doing at 6 oclock yesterday evening? Use the prompts to
ask and answer.

Joe

Ann & Tom

ride a motorbike ()/fly a helicopter ()

drive home ()/have a snack ()

Max

play the piano ()/play the violin ()

Tim

read a comic ()/walk the dog ()

Bob & Liz

listen to music ()/watch TV ()

A: Was Max playing the piano?

B: No, he wasnt. He was
playing the violin.

13. Complete the sentences. Use the past

continuous form of the verbs.

15. Look at the pictures and complete the

sentences with the words in the box.

1. A: Where were you going (you/go) when I

saw you this morning?
B: I __________ (run) to my friends
house. I was late and she __________ (wait)
for me.
2. A: What __________ (you/do) when I
phoned you?
B: I __________ (watch) TV.
3. A: __________ (your parents/live) in Italy
when you were born?
B: No, they __________ (live) in London.
My father __________ (work) for the Italian
Embassy.
4. A: __________ (your sister/dance) with
Mary at the party last night?
B: Yes, she was. They __________
(dance) all night.
5. A: Who __________ (you/play) tennis with
yesterday?
B: I __________ (play) with Paolo. Hes
very good.

14. Ask your classmate what he/she was

doing at different times yesterday.

1. Jessica slipped on a _______ skin, fell

down and sprained her ankle.

2. Peter jumped off a _______, fell down and

hurt his _______ and his back.

3. Tina fell of her _______ and hurt her knee.

A: What were you doing at seven oclock

yesterday morning?
B: I was having breakfast.
4. Jack crashed into a _______, hit his head
and his wrist.

15. Read the dialogue. What do you think happened to Phil?

Nat:
Julie:
Phil:
Julie:
Phil:
Nat:
Phil:
Nat:
Phil:
Nat:
Julie:
Phil:

Nat:
Phil:
Julie:
Phil:

Phil! Whats the matter with you? Did you have an accident?
Yeah! What happened to you?
Well, believe it or not, I had two accidents yesterday.
Two? But how?
Its a long story. Yesterday morning I was riding my bike in the
park. Suddenly, I saw two dogs. They were chasing a cat.
And?
Well, I fell off my bike and broke my arm.
Ouch! But the dogs werent chasing you.
I know, but Im afraid of dogs.
Oh yeah, I forgot.
What about your head?
Well, later in the afternoon we were driving home from the
hospital with my mum and we crashed into a car. Thats how I
hurt my head.
Poor you! Is your mum OK?
Yeah, shes fine. She was wearing a seatbelt.
Werent you?
No, I couldnt. My arm really hurt.

16. Write a short paragraph about an accident you had.

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________.