Exercise H Past Perfect Continuous

Exercise H

1. Using the Past Perfect Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
      We __________________ for an apartment. (to search)
      We had been searching for an apartment.
      She _______________ extra courses. (to take)
      She had been taking extra courses.

1. We ____________________ the grass. (to cut)
2. You ______________________ at the photographs. (to look)
3. They _____________________ you the letters. (to give)
4. He _____________________ for us. (to wait)
5. She _____________________ a business. (to run)
6. It ______________________ all night. (to rain)
7. We ______________________ them. (to encourage)
8. You ___________________ on the beach. (to lie)
9. They ______________________ the sauce. (to taste)
10. He ____________________ behind. (to lag)

2. Rewrite the following affirmative statements as questions, negative statements, negative questions without contractions, negative questions with contractions, and affirmative statements followed by negative tag questions. For example:
      She had been keeping a diary.
      Had she been keeping a diary?
      She had not been keeping a diary.
      Had she not been keeping a diary?
      Hadn't she been keeping a diary?
      She had been keeping a diary, hadn't she?

1. We had been raking the leaves.
2. You had been visiting your cousins.
3. They had been swimming in the lake.

3. Using the Past Perfect Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
      We _______________. (to argue)
      We had been arguing.
      ___ he ___________ well? (to feel)
      Had he been feeling well?
      I ___ not __________ much walking. (to do)
      I had not been doing much walking.

1. You _______________________ the stove. (to clean)
2. She _____ not ___________________ regularly. (to come)
3. _____ they not ___________________ on you? (to count)
4. We ________________________ for shoes. (to look)
5. _____ it not ________________ that day? (to snow)
6. I ________________________ for groceries. (to shop)
7. _____ he not ___________________ to the news? (to listen)
8. They _____ not ___________________ to drive far. (to intend)
9. _____ we ___________________ on time? (to leave)
10. _____ you ____________________ that? (to expect)
11. They ________________________ television. (to watch)
12. He _____ not _________________ long when the bus arrived. (to wait)

4. For each of the following sentences, paying attention to whether the underlined auxiliary is a form of to be, to do or to have, fill in the blank with the bare infinitive, present participle, or past participle of the verb given in brackets, as appropriate. Refer if necessary to the table summarizing the formation of the English present and past tenses. For example:
      He was ________ medicine. (to study)
      He was studying medicine.
      You have _______ the food. (to bring)
      You have brought the food.
      We had been _______ a long time. (to wait)
      We had been waiting a long time.
      Does she _______ classical music? (to like)
      Does she like classical music?

1. She was _______________ a picture. (to draw)
2. We have ________________ our homework. (to finish)
3. I have been ________________ for an opportunity. (to wait)
4. Do you ________________ a bicycle? (to own)
5. We are ________________ coffee. (to drink)
6. Did he ________________ the book? (to enjoy)
7. They were ________________ us. (to expect)
8. You had ________________ a job. (to find)
9. He is ______________ the truth. (to tell)
10. It had been ________________ all morning. (to snow)
11. We had ________________ the window. (to open)
12. I am _______________ potatoes. (to peel)
13. You did not ________________ my letter. (to answer)
14. It does not __________________. (to matter)
15. I have ________________ this movie before. (to see)

5. Choose the past perfect, or the past perfect continuous

1. When we arrived the film ________________________________ (start).

2. She ________________________________ (work) in that company for

twenty years when she was made redundant.

3. I felt ill because I ________________________________ (drink) six cups of

coffee.

4. I ________________________________ (study) all day, so I was tired.

5. How long ________________________________ (you / live) in London

when your daughter was born?

6. When I arrived at the airport I realised I

________________________________ (forget) my passport.

7. I ________________________________ (break) my ankle, so I couldn’t go

skiing last year.

8. She ________________________________ (study) English for three years

when she took the exam.

9. I ________________________________ (run), so I was hot and tired.

10. I didn’t go to the class because I ________________________________ (not /do) my homework.

6. Look at the pictures. Choose the best sentence to illustrate each picture and click on it. 

7. Click on the most suitable verb form.

1. So I turned/had turned on my heels and walked out of the shop in disgust.

2. When we got to the station the train had just left/just left, so we missed out connection.

3. The mechanics had taken/had been taking the engine apart several times before they were able to locate the source of mysterious rattle.

4. By 1492 the Spanish had been expelling/had expelled the Moors from the mainland entirely.

5. She was surprised to find the fridge empty; the children had eaten/had been eating everything!

6. The children wanted to go to the circus, but their father already booked/had already booked tickets for the ice-skating spectacular.

7. Our lead actor turned up and he was word perfect; apparently, he was practicing/had been practicing his lines al day.

8. Debbie couldn’t understand why her computer crashed; it had been working/was working perfectly for as long as she could remember.

9. My niece’s riding accident was rather a setback because she had hoped/hopedto pursue a career as a ballet dancer.

10. Mrs Lawson arrived at casualty in quite a state; she had been suffering/suffered from severe stomach pains for hours.

8. Past to present tenses 1

Click on the correct phrase or sentence that follows each short text.

		9. Past to present tenses 2             Match each sentence with its meaning. Click on the correct meaning. 1.      I’ve been reading the book you leant me on genetics. -I’ve finished the book. -I’m still reading the book. 2.      I’ve read the book you lent me on genetics. -I’ve finished the book. -I’m still reading the book. 3.      The firm has been giving company cars to junior managers. -This isn’t the company’s usual policy. It may change. -This is the company’s usual policy. It’s unlikely to change. 4.      The firm gives company cars to junior managers. -This isn’t the company’s usual policy. It may change. -This is the company’s usual policy. It’s unlikely to change. 5.      A group of us have learnt to play bridge. -We can play it now… -We’re still learning. 6.      A group of us have been learning to play bridge -We can play it now… -We’re still learning. 7.      Something has killed the rabbits in the woods. -There are no rabbits left in the woods. -There are some rabbits in the woods. 8.      ‘Hi, Fiona. What a mess! Have you been decorating? -Fiona isn’t decorating any more. -Fiona is in the middle of decorating. 9.      Monsanto has been placing some adverts in the national press. -This is a continuing publicity campaign. -This was a one-off publicity move.