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 my 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) …………………….
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 …………………….
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 my 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.
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
