English Grammar in Context

Present Perfect vs. Past Simple

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Let’s practice

1.Make past simple ‘wh’ questions:

1.(where / you / go to school?)

2.(when / she / arrive?)

3.(why / he / eat so much?)

4.(what / they / do yesterday?)

5.(who / you / meet at the party?)

2. Put the verbs into the correct form (simple past or present perfect).

My friends (visit) _________

the Grand Canyon National Park last year. I (be / never) ________ to the Grand Canyon National Park. But I (see) ________ lots of wonderful pictures. And yesterday I (buy)

________ a book about the Grand Canyon. I (read) _______ 30 pages already. It's really interesting.

3. Write the verbs in the correct tense (Simple Past or Present Perfect).

My friend (go) ___________ to Edinburgh three times. Some years ago he (study) __________ English there. Last month he (visit) ________

some friends in Edinburgh. Unfortunately, I (can / not)

________ go to Edinburgh with him. This is a pity. They are my friends, too, and I (see / not) _________ them for ages.

4. Work in pairs. In turns talk about the suggested topic for about one minute. Use Present Perfect and Past Simple.

1)A beautiful place you have visited

2)A film you have enjoyed

3)A friend you have known for a long time

4)Something you have stopped doing

5)Something you have done recently

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U n i t 4

PAST CONTINUOUS / PAST PERFECT /

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Past Continuous

was / were + -ing is the past continuous

(+)

I / he / she / it was cooking

We/you/they were playing

We use Past Continuous:

1) to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time

Example: I was watching TV when she called.

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2) to describe an action happening at a specific time

Example: Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.

3) to express the idea that both actions were happening at the same time Example: I was studying while he was making dinner.

4) with a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past

Example: When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped.

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Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous

Past Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the past. Study the examples below to understand the difference.

Compare:

1. He was tired because he was exercising so hard.

This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he was exercising at that exact moment.

2. He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.

This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he had been exercising over a period of time. It is possible that he was still exercising at that moment OR that he had just finished.

Let’s practice

1. Use Past Continuous to describe actions happening at a specific time in the past.

1.A: What (you, do) ______________ when the accident occurred?

B: I (try) _______________ to change a light bulb that had burnt out.

2.When I phoned my friends, they (play)

_____________ monopoly.

3.Yesterday at six I (prepare) ________________

dinner.

4.They _________ (not sleep) at five o'clock.

5.Peter _________ (work) when I telephoned.

6.Tim __________ (study) German while they were studying French.

2.Choose the correct time expression used with the past continuous

tense.

1.What were you doing (while / during) the meeting?

2.Tim was finishing the report (in / at) five o'clock.

3.They were discussing the problem (when / at) I walked into the room.

4.Jackson wasn't listening (while / during) he was explaining the situation.

5.Was Alice paying attention (while / during) the presentation?

6.They were having a quiet breakfast (this / at) morning when he

arrived.

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3.My memorable event. The sentences are mixed. Put them in the correct order to make a story.

1My most memorable event was my trip to Africa with my family last November.

We happily changed into shorts and sandals, ate some dinner, and went to sleep. While we were driving there, he told us that the reserve is a park with over 100 different kinds of animals. I was taking a photo of the giraffe when a zebra

started running toward our truck. Five minutes after we entered the park, we saw a giraffe and two zebras. When we arrived on Monday night, rain was falling, but it was quite hot. On Wednesday, we drove through the Great Rift Valley to another park for a three-day safari. On Tuesday, our guide picked us up in a big truck. At first, we were very frightened, but the guide said, “Don’t worry – zebras are not very dangerous!”

After the safari ended, I was happy to return home. He drove us to Kenya’s first nature reserve, which opened in 1946. Before we began the safari, some lions were watching our truck.

4.Describe your memorable event. Use Past Simple and Past Continuous.

5.Why were you doing this?

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U n i t 5

FUTURE FORMS

Present Simple vs Present Continuous

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Going to vs. Future Simple

Simple Future has two different forms in English: “will” and “be going to.” Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear. Both “will” and “be going to” refer to a specific time in the future.

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