Choose the correct answer a, b, c or d.

1. I (talk) over the phone when they brought me the letter.

a) talked b) had talked c) had been talking d) was talking

2.They (sit) in the room when the taxi arrived.

a) sat b) had sat c) had been sitting d) were sitting

3. He quickly forgot everything he (learn) at school.

a) learnt b) had learnt c) had been learning d) was learning

4. I visited Brazil in April. I (stay) at a nice hotel for a fortnight.

a) stayed b) had stayed c) had been staying d) was staying

5. I (stay) at the hotel for a fortnight when I received your letter.

a) stayed b) had stayed c) had been staying d) was staying

6. The musician (play) the piano for a whole hour when we came in.

a) played b) had played c) had been playing d) was playing

7. Alice closed the magazine and rose from the sofa on which she (lie) for more than two hours.

a) lay b) had lain c) had been lying d) was lying

8. We (walk) along a forest road for two hours when we saw a house.

a) walked b) had walked c) had been walking d) were walking

9. I (talk) over the phone for a whole hour when the porter knocked at the door.

a) talked b) had talked c) had been talking d) was talking

10. I hardly (finish) speaking with a porter when the phone rang again.

a) finished b) had hardly finished c) had been finishing d) was finishing

11. First I (answer) the phone, and then I read your letter.

a) answered b) had answered c) had been answering d) was answering

12. And I began writing to you instead of going to the seaside, as I (plan) before.

a) planned b) had planned c) had been planning d) was planning

I. Read the newspaper story. Find the verbs in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense.

Excuse me, there’s a car in your roof

Mr and Mrs Hawkins had had two fires recently in their house, so they decided to ask a friend, John Brown, to look after their house while they were on holiday in the south of France. This time they were hoping the house would be safe with him while they were away.

But at 8.30 in the morning, while John was in the kitchen making a cup of coffee, a Landrover suddenly came through the roof and landed right on top of the bed, where John had been sleeping half an hour earlier!

What had happened was that a farmer had been driving round his sheep farm in his Landrover, which was on a hill overlooking the village where Mr and Mrs Hawkins live. Suddenly he lost control of his vehicle. When he realized he couldn’t stop it and that it was moving towards the edge of a cliff, he jumped out, just in time. The Landrover ‘bounced like a tennis ball’ before it finally landed in the roof of the Hawkins’s house.

John Brown was incredibly lucky. If he hadn’t decided to get up early that morning, he would definitely have been killed. Although he has now recovered from the shock, he still doesn’t know how to explain to Mr and Mrs Hawkins, who are still on holiday, what has happened to their house!

Future Tenses

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 3029