Граматичний матеріал для підготовки учнів 10-11 класів до ЗНО з теми "Past Tenses".

Past Tenses. Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past perfect Continuous, Used to

Past Simple. The Past Simple is used for an action which happened at a definite time in the past. The time is stated, already known or implied. They spent their holidays in Switzerland last winter. (When did they go to Switzerland? – last winter. The time is stated.) They had a great time (The time is already known)For actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past. I got off the bus, ran to my house, came up to the porch, took my key out of the pocket, opened the door, switched on the light and put my slippers on. For past habits or states which are now finished. In such cases we also use the expression USED TO. People travelled by carriages in those days. = People used to travel by carriages those days. To talk about the lives of people who are no longer alive. Marilyn Monroe starred in a number of successful films. To refer to the historical past or to events that have happened in the distant past related to the speaker. World War II ended in 1945. Romans built strong bridges. The Past Simple is used with the following time expressions: yesterday, last night, two weeks ago, in 1942 etc.

Past Continuous. Past Continuous is used for an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We do not mention when the action started or finished. At 3 pm yesterday they were sitting at the outdoor café. (We don’t know when they got to the café or when they left.)For an action which was in progress when another action interrupted it. We use the past continuous for the action in progress (longer action) and the past simple for the action which interrupted it (shorter action). He was walking when he slipped on a banana skin. For two or more simultaneous actions in the past. She was steering the boat while he was playing the guitar. To describe the atmosphere, setting, etc. In the introduction to a story before we describe the main events. Toby and Emily were walking along the street. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. To describe a picture or a photo. In this picture we can see a woman. She is wearing a yellow blouse and a blue skirt. She is holding a jug in her hands and pouring milk into a bowl. The past continuous is used with the following time expressions: when, while, as, all day/ night/etc.

Past Continuous + I/She/He/It was Ving We/You/They were Ving. Past Simple+____ Ved/V2___ did not V? Did ____ V…?Wh did ____ V…?

Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the past continuous. She 1) (lie) in the bed when she 2) (hear) a sudden noise. She 3) (open) her eyes in horror. Someone 4) (open) a downstairs window; they 5) (try) to get into her house. She 6) (climb) slowly out of bed and 7) (creep) to the door. She 8) (stand ) very still listening carefully when she 9) (see) a light downstairs. It 10) (move) about as if someone 11) (hold) a torch and searching for something. She 12) (know) that they 13) (look) for her.

Put the verbs into the past simple or the past continuous. Charlie Chaplin 1) (become) one of the best-known personalities in America within two years of his first appearance in motion pictures. He 2) (be) so famous that no studio could afford to pay him. So he 3) (appear) only in films which he 4) (produce) himself. The boys 1) (play) football on the river bank while the girls 2) (talk). Everyone 3) (enjoy) the picnic when suddenly they 4) (hear) a loud cry from further up the river. They all 5) (rush) to see what was wrong. It 1) (happen) at ten o’clock last night. John 2) (sit) in his cozy living room with his wife and children. They 3) (watch) the evening news on TV when suddenly, the lights 4) (go out) and everything in the house 5) (become) quiet. In prehistoric times people 1) (live) in caves. They 2) (hunt) animals which they then 3) (use) for food and clothing. They 4) (make) everything by themselves and they 5) (have) very simple lives.

Past Simple or Past Continuous1. They (clean) the windows when it (start) to rain.2. As he (drive) to work, he (remember) that his briefcase was still at home.3. Melanie (cook) dinner when her husband (come) home.4. I (hear) a loud crash as I (sit) in the garden.5. She (type) a letter when her boss (arrive).6. While the dog (dig) in the garden, it (find) a bone.7. Mary (ride) her bike when she (notice) the tiny kitten.8. While I (do) my homework, the phone (ring).

USED TO/ BE USED TO/ GET USED TOUSED TO + infinitive. We use used to + infinitive to refer to the past habits or states. In such cases, used to can be replaced by the past simple with no difference in meaning.e.g. He used to go out, but he doesn’t do it any more. = He went out a lot when he was younger. We use the past simple, and not used to, for actions which happened at a definite time in the past.e.g. He visited Paris last month. We form negative and interrogative with didn’t used to/ Did… used to BE USED TO/ GET USED TO + noun/pronoun/-ing form. They are used to hot weather. (They are accustomed to hot weather. – present)I am used to getting up early. (I’m accustomed to getting up early. – present)She wasn’t used to working at night. (She wasn’t accustomed to working at night. – past)Marry is getting used to life in the city. (Marry is becoming accustomed to life in the city. – present)Simon had never lived in a tropical country before, but he quickly got used to it. (He became accustomed to it. – past)They will soon get used to cooking their own meals. (They will become accustomed to cooking their own meals. - future)

Choose the correct answer. I find it hard to get up early. – You … to getting up early once you start working. Are used b) will get used c) were used2. Do you often exercise now? – No, but I … to exercise a lot when I was at school. Used b) will get used c) am used3. Aren’t you bothered by all that noise? – No, we … to noise. We live in the city centre.were used b) will get used c) are used4. Does your sister travel a lot? – No, but she … to travel before she got married.didn’t used b) used c) wasn’t used5. I don’t like wearing a suit every day. – Don’t worry, you … to it very soon. Are used b) will get used c) were used6. Sandra … to using a computer, but now she enjoys it. It’s a lot easier for her now.isn’t used b) will get used c) wasn’t used7. Do you remember the things we … to do when we were kids? – Of course, I do. How could I forget what fun we had!a) Used b) were used c) got used

Past Perfect. We use Past Perfect to say that something had already happened before another action or specific time in the past i.e. the action which occurs previously in time is expressed in the past perfect tense, and the action which occurs later is expressed in the past tensee.g. When Linda arrived her husband had left. I read in the newspaper that he had made a great discovery. They were sure they had met the girl before. John had repaired the car by 6 o’clock. Lilly had already finished her homework when Victoria came. We also use Past Perfect in reported speech after verbs like told, asked, said, wanted, wondered, explainede.g. He told me that he had never been in London. I asked him how many books he had sold. Your parents wanted to know what you had done yesterday. We wondered if Daniel had passed his final exam. Past Perfect is used to show regret about the paste.g. I wish I had brought my camera. (but I didn't)I wish we had stayed at another hotel.

Past Perfect. We use Past Perfect in third conditional, also called conditional type 3 (if + past perfect in the 'if' clause, perfect conditional in the main clause). This is a structure we use to talk about unreal conditions in the past.e.g. If I had written the report last week, I would have given it to you. If the children had been good, their mother would have taken them to the zoo. He would have solved the problem if he had known how. Past Perfect is used with conjunctions like no sooner ... than or hardly/barely ... Whene.g. No sooner had I returned home than it began to snow. Hardly had he finished working, when his girlfriend arrived. Past Perfect is used a state that started in the past, and continued up to sometime in the paste.g. I had lived in Spain for 3 years before I got used to the country. He had worked there for two years before he got fired. They had lived in New York for 5 years before they moved to Los Angeles.

Past Perfect Continuous. Past Perfect Continuous is used to express an ongoing action in the past before a particular time or another action in the past. The Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes duration of time before something.e.g. Susan had been studying Spanish for 3 years before she started to learn English. He had been running until he was out of breath. They had been watching TV for two hours before Mike came. Diana had been playing tennis for half an hour when it began to rain. We use Past Perfect Continuous for past events or actions which had a result in the past. e.g. The grass was wet. It had been raining all morning. Tom was very tired. He had been working in the garden for a long time. The Past Perfect Continuous also appears in third conditional sentences and in reported speech, when we want to emphasize duration of time. e.g. If he hadn't been reading for hours last night, he would have got up earlier. She said she had been teaching English for the last three years in Japan. 

Complete the sentence with the past simple form of the verb in brackets. Then decide if each sentence is True or False. Check the factual answers after the exercise.1. Greek actors (wear) wore masks and special boots. True2. Spartan children (take) ____________ baths only two or three times a year.3. The philosopher Socrates (drink) ____________ poison and died.4. Alexander the Great's army (go) ____________ as far as China.5. Heron of Alexandria (make) ____________ a kind of jet engine.6. The Roman Emperor Caligula's name (mean) ____________ “Happy Soldier”.7. Roman mathematics (have) ____________ no zero.8. Most Roman girls (get) ____________ married at the age of 18.9. Roman soldiers (pay) ____________ for their own equipment and food.10. The Romans (know) ____________ how to make soap and cement.

Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Simple or Past Continuous.1. When I ____________ (come) home, my little sister ____________________ (sleep).2. When Kate _________ (open) the door, the children_____________ (dance) round the fir-tree.3. He__________________ (read) on the sofa when Jill ____________ (come) in and ______________ (sit) down beside him.4. She _________________ (look) out of the window when I_______________ (see) her.5. I ________________ (walk) along the street with my friend when a tram _________ (pass).6. When I __________________ (wash) the floor, I __________ (find) my old toy under the sofa.7. When granny __________________ (read) a book on the sofa, she ____________ (fall) asleep.8. When Nick ___________ (ring) me up yesterday, I __________________ (help) my mother.9. When Mike _____________________ (play) in the yard, he _______________ (find) a ball.10. When I _______________ (prepare) breakfast in the morning, I ___________ (cut) my finger.11. When I __________________ (go) to the stadium, I _______________ (meet) Kate and Ann.12. When we ________________ (walk) up the hills it suddenly ______________ (start) raining.13. When they _______________ (sail) down the river, they ______________ (see) a little island.14. I _______________ (play) the piano when my mother ______________ (ask) me for dinner. 

Underline the сorreсt word or phrase in eaсh sentence.1. Whilе I wаshed/was washing my hair, thе phonе rang/ringed.2. How did you felt/did уou feel yеstеrday aftеrnoon?3. Whеn I got/wаs getting homе I reсeived/wаs reсeiving a phonе сall.4. Last summеr I wаs going swimming/went swimming evеry wееkеnd.5. Whеn thе dog bit/wаs biting Laura’s lеg, shе sсreаmed/wаs sсreаming.6. Wе sаng/sung somе songs and thеn аte/eаt somе sandwiсhes.7. Whеn уou fell/felt ovеr thе сliff, what hаppened/wаs happening nехt?8. Whilе Мarу wаshed-up/wаs wаshing-up, she broke/wаs breаking a сup. 9. While he took / was taking a bath, Archimedes discovered/was discovering the principles of density and buoyancy.10. When Edouard Benedictus, a French scientist, worked/was working in his laboratory, he dropped /   was dropping a glass bottle which had some plastic inside and invented/was inventing safety glass.11. Columbus arrived/was arriving in America while he tried/was trying to reach the Far East.12. Alexander Fleming discovered/was discovering penicillin by accident while he looked/was looking   at some old experiments.13. While Hiram Bingham climbed/was climbing in the mountains of Peru in 1911, he discovered/was   discovering the lost city of Macchu Picchu.14. While Isaac Newton sat/was sitting under an apple tree, an apple fell/was falling on his head, and   he understood/was understanding gravity.15. While Dr Harry Coover tried/was trying to invent a new kind of plastic, he made/was making a very   soft substance which stuck/was sticking things together. It was Super glue.16. While he observed/was observing the Moon through his telescope, Galileo realized/was realizing   that it had mountains and craters.17. I didn't sеe/sаw whеrе thе bus stop was, so I wаs missing/missed thе bus.18. What did уou do/werе уou doing whеn I phonеd/wаs phoning you last night? Thеrе was no rеply.

Open the brackets. Use past simple or past continuous.1. I ______________ (open) the shutters and_______________ (look) out. The car _____________________ (stand) where I had left it.2. Suddenly I ____________ (realize) that they _______________ (not/pay) attention to me any longer. They _____________________ (mutter) something and all_________________ (look) in the same direction. I ____________ (turn) my head and __________________ (look) where they all ______________________ (look). A man ___________________ (come) slowly down a steep little street that ______________________ (lead) uphill between the house on my right.3. On my left I ____________ (see) the lights of the first house of the village. And I __________ (hurry) towards it through the wood when a sudden flash of light __________ (make) me stop.4. At that time I _______________________ (look) for the job.5. Miss Nobs ____________ (not/see) him leave the house. At half past four she _____________ (make) herself a cup of tea in a small recess off the main corridor.6. The idea first_______________ (occur) to me that afternoon as I _______________________ (back) the car into the garage.7. I probably ____________ (drop) the key when I ___________________ (fish) for small change in my bag at the news-stand.8. All through the night I _______________ (hear) them work, open drawers, drag cases over the floor. They ______________________ (pack).

Put the verbs in brackets into past perfect or past simple.1. They ______________ (eat) everything by the time I ______________ (arrive) at the party.2. Last night I _____________ (arrive) home at half past twelve. I ___________ (have) a bath and then I ______________ (go) to bed.3. Nobody ___________ (come) to the meeting because Ann _______________ (forget) to tell people about it.4. When the police _________________ (arrive), the car _________________ (go).4. The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody __________________(go) to bed.6. All the garages ________________ (close) by the time we ______________ (cross) the border.7. I _____________ (try) telephoning her several times but she _______________ (leave) the city.8. When we were on holiday, the weather ___________________ (be) awful.6. The car _______________ (go) when I ___________________ (look) into the street.7. You already _____________________ (leave) when the trouble ___________________ (start).8. When I _______________ (find) the purse, someone _______________ (take) money out of it.9. We arrived at the cinema late. The film already ___________________ (begin).10. Richard already __________________ (go) when his boss ________________ (call). 

Complete the sentence with the Past Simple or Past Perfect form of the verb in brackets.1. When I (try) tried to use my laptop, I realized the battery (run) __________ down.2. I (turn) __________ the computer off, but forgot that I (not save) __________ my work.3. I only remembered I (not pay) __________ the bill when my Internet connection (stop) __________ working.4. When I (receive) __________ the e-mail, I couldn't understand who (send) __________ it.5. When I (check) __________ the instructions, I understood what I (do) __________.6. I knew I (receive) __________ a virus when I (run) __________ the anti-virus program.7. As soon as I (download) __________ the document, I knew I (make) __________ a mistake.8. I could see what (go) __________ wrong as soon as I (look) __________ inside the printer.9. I knew I (press) __________ the wrong key when nothing (happen) __________.10. When the screen (go) __________ blank, I couldn't understand how it (happen) __________.

Put the verbs into the Past Continuous (was/were Ving), Past Perfect (had Ved/V3) or Past Perfect Continuous (had been Ving).1. It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours __were having__ (have) a party.2. We were good friends. We __________________ (know) each other for years.3. John and I went for a walk. I has 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. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He ______________________ (look) his contact lens.8. When I arrived, Kate _______________________ (wait) for me. She was annoyed with me 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.

Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous. 1. Look! Somebody ________________ (break) the window.2. I wonder if John _________________ (forget) my number. I ___________________ (expect) him to call for the past two hours.3. You look very upset. What _______________________ (happen)?4. You ____________________ (not finish) that book yet? You ___________________ (read) it for more than a week. 5. The meat must be nearly ready. I _________________________ (cook) it for nearly an hour.6. What you _____________________ (do) for the last two hours? – I _____________________ (sit) here working at this problem.7. I ________________ (lose) my key. Can you help me look for it?8. My brother is an actor. He _____________________ (appear) in several films.9. Sorry! I’m late. – That’s all right. I ___________________________ (not wait) long.10. She just __________________(sell) two of her paintings. – She’s lucky. I _______________ (paint) for five years and I ____________________ (not sell) a single picture yet.11. He _____________________ (sleep) since ten o’clock. It’s time he woke up.12. I __________________ (pump) up three tyres. Would you like to do the fourth?

Complete the sentence with used to + the verb in brackets in positive, negative or question form. Didn’t used to/ Did ___used to?1. What things used to be (be) different in the past?2. For a start, all the continents ___________ (form) one large land mass.3. Obviously, there __________ (be) cities and buildings, and forest covered a third of the Earth.4. The climate was different, and animals such as the hippopotamus and rhinoceros ___________ (exist) in northern Europe.5. Many mountains in Europe ___________ (be) active volcanoes.6. Early people ___________ (live) in complex societies, but in small groups in places where they could find food.7. What ______________ (eat) ? They ____________ (eat) whatever they could find.8. Early people _____________ (stay) in the same place, but ____________ (travel) long distances, following the animals they needed for food.9. Jaсk ______________ (havе) a bеard but hе shavеd it off.10. My mothеr ____________ (rеad) to mе еvеry night.11. In thе holidays wе ________________ (mееt) at thе bеaсh еvеry morning.12. I _______________ (not likе) spinaсh, but now I do.