The key answer of exercise 1

PAST CONTINUOUS

FORM

Affirmative

• I/he/she/it was reading.
• You/we/they were reading.

Negative

• I/he/she/it wasn't reading.
• You/we/they weren't reading.

Interrogative

• Was I/he/she/it reading?
• Were you/we/they reading?

Short answers

• Yes, you/we/they were.
• No, I/he/she/it wasn't.

USE

An action in progress at a particular time in the past.

Example:

• Last Sunday at 5 p.m. I was watching a football match.

Two continuous actions happening simultaneously in the past.

Example:

• While she was cooking dinner, he was watching TV.

An action in progress in the past interrupted by another event.

Example:

• I was reading a book when the phone rang.

In descriptions to explain situations or set a scene when we are beginning to tell a story.

Example:

• They were walking out of the cinema. It was snowing and...

Describing a continuous situation in the past.

Example:

• We were working abroad at that time.

SIGNAL WORDS

To describe an action in progress:

• when, while, as.

! Remember: when a temporal clause introduced by while, as or when precedes the main clause, it is followed by a comma.

Examples:

• While the actors were speaking a journalist asked a question.
• A journalist asked a question while the actors were speaking.

PAST SIMPLE

USE

Single actions.

Example:

• I read a magazine last night.

Past actions that happened one after the other.

Example:

• She arrived home, unpacked her bags, and then cooked dinner.
• They finished their homework, packed their bags, and went to bed.

A past action preceding another action or a situation.

Example:

• The boy texted his friends before he received a call.
• The bus arrived just as I stepped out of the house.

SIGNAL WORDS

To describe actions that happened one after the other:

• first, then, next.