Unit 13: I was doing

Past Continuous – Full Textbook Version

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GRAMMAR
EXAMPLES
EXERCISES

A. Timeline Example

Sarah at 3:00, 4:00, 4:30
3:00
she began playing
4:00
she was playing
4:30
she stopped playing
It is 6 o’clock now. Sarah is at home. She is watching television.
At 4 o’clock she wasn’t at home. She was at the sports club. She was playing tennis.
She wasn’t watching television.

B. was / were + -ing (Past Continuous)

positivenegativequestion
I
he
she
it		 was I
he
she
it		 was not
(wasn’t)		 was I?
he?
she?
it?
we
you
they		 were we
you
they		 were not
(weren’t)		 were we?
you?
they?
What were you doing at 11.30 yesterday? Were you working?
‘What did he say?’ ‘I don’t know. I wasn’t listening.’
It was raining, so we didn’t go out.
In 1985 we were living in Canada.
Today she’s wearing a skirt, but yesterday she was wearing trousers.
I woke up early yesterday. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and the birds were singing.
Spelling (live → living / run → running / lie → lying etc.) → Appendix 5

C. am/is/are + -ing (present) → was/were + -ing (past)

I’m working (now). → I was working at 10.30 last night.
It isn’t raining (now). → It wasn’t raining when we went out.
What are you doing (now)? → What were you doing at three o’clock?

Examples

At 4 o’clock she was playing tennis.
I wasn’t listening.
We were living in Canada.
The sun was shining.

Exercises 13.1 – 13.4

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13.1 Look at the pictures. Where were these people at 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon? And what were they doing? Write two sentences for each picture.

Ann
Carol & Jack
Tom
Catherine
Mr & Mrs Hall
  1. Ann was at home. She was watching TV.
  2. Carol and Jack . They .
  3. Tom . He .
  4. — . She .
  5. Mr and Mrs Hall . They .
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13.2 Sarah did a lot of things yesterday morning. Look at the pictures and complete the sentences.

8:10–8:25
8:30–9:10
9:30–10:00
10:20–11:00
11:30–12:00
12:30–1:00
  1. At 9.45 she was washing her car.
  2. At 11.45 she .
  3. At 9 o’clock .
  4. At 12.50 .
  5. At 8.15 .
  6. At 10.30 .
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13.3 Complete the questions. Use was/were -ing. Use what/where/why if necessary.

  1. (you/live) Where were you living in 1990?
  2. (you/do) at 2 o’clock?
  3. (it/rain) when you got up?
  4. (Ann/drive) so fast?
  5. (Tim/wear) a suit yesterday?
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13.4 Look at the picture. You saw Joe in the street yesterday afternoon. What was he doing? Write positive or negative sentences.

Joe going shopping
  1. (wear / a jacket) He wasn't wearing a jacket.
  2. (carry / a bag) .
  3. (go / to the dentist) .
  4. (eat / an ice-cream) .
  5. (carry / an umbrella) .
  6. (go / home) .
  7. (wear / a hat) .
  8. (ride / a bicycle) .

Unit 13: I was doing • Full Interactive Textbook