4th YEAR ESO GRAMMAR SHEET UNIT 2

A. When do we use the Past Simple or Past Continuous? Match the sentences (a-h) to their

descriptions (1-8).

a) Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays.

b) I went to school on foot.

c) While I was sunbathing, Tim was swimming.

d) As the teacher was explaining the bell rang.

e) She sealed the letter, put a stamp on it and

posted it.

f) She phoned him an hour ago.

g) He was playing chess at 4:30 pm yesterday.

h) That morning, the sun was shining and the

birds were singing.

1) Past action in progress interrupted by

another past action.

2) Two or more simultaneous past actions.

3) Past actions which happened immediately

one after the other.

4) Action in progress at a stated time in the

past.

5) Action which happened at a stated past

time.

6) Finished past action.

7) Background description of events in a story.

8) Past habit or state.

B. Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Continuous).

1. While Tom ........................................... (read) , Amely ...........................................

(watch) a documentary on TV.

2. Marvin ........................................... (come) home,........................................... (switch) on

the computer and........................................... (check) his emails.

3. The thief ........................................... (sneak) into the house, ...........................................

(steal) the jewels and........................................... (leave) without a trace.

4. Nobody ........................................... (listen) while the teacher...........................................

(explain) the tenses.

5. While we ........................................... (do) a sight-seeing tour, our friends

........................................... (lie) on the beach.

6. He ........................................... (wake) up and ........................................... (look) at his

watch.

7. The receptionist ........................................... (welcome) the guests and

........................................... (ask) them to fill in the form.

8. The car........................................... (break) down and we ...........................................

(have) to walk home.

9. The boys ........................................... (swim) while the girls ...........................................

(sunbathe) .

10. My father ........................................... (come) in, ........................................... (look)

around and ........................................... (tell) me to tidy up my room.

11. As one group .......................................... (prepare) dinner, the others

........................................... (collect) wood for their campfire.

12. While the parents ........................................... (have) breakfast, their children

........................................... (run) about.

13. Martha ..................................... (turn) off the lights and ................................... (go) to bed.

14. We ........................................... (wait) for Jane, when suddenly Louis

........................................... (come) around the corner.

15. I(...........................................(cycle) through the park, when I ...........................................

(hear) a strange noise.

16. He ........................................... (pass) her a message when the teacher

........................................... (look / not) .

17. I ........................................... (fall) asleep while I ........................................... (watch) TV

last night.

18. When Mike and Jane ........................................... (paint) the walls, their dog

........................................... (knock) over the paint pot.

19. Tom ........................................... (break) his leg when he ...........................................

(play) frisbee.

20. I ............................... (sit) on the toilet when the phone ................................(start) ringing.

21. I ........................................... (jog) in the park, when two squirrels

........................................... (cross) my way.

22. Robert ........................................... (fall) off the ladder when he

........................................... (pick) cherries.

23. Archimedes ........................................... (discover) the theory of buoyancy while he

........................................... (take) a bath.

24. When we ........................................... (travel) around Ireland, we

........................................... (meet) some very nice people.

25. While she ........................................... (speak) on the phone, the milk

........................................... (boil) over.

26. When I ........................................... (leave) the house this morning, the sun

........................................... (shine) .

27. Caroline ........................................... (burn) her hand when she

........................................... (iron) her clothes.

C. Read the text and write the verbs in brackets into the correct form. Then, finish the story.

It was one o’clock in the morning and I ................................... (lie) awake in bed. The wind

........................................... (blow) outside and it ........................................... (rain). Suddenly I

........................................... (hear) a loud crash. It ........................................... (come) from

downstairs. I ........................................... (get) up and ........................................... (switch) on

the light. Everything ........................................... (be) quiet and still. Only the clock in the hallway

........................................... (tick). I ........................................... (walk) down the stairs when I

........................................... (notice) something strange. The front door was wide open.

D. Write questions for the following answers.

1. ....................................................................................................?

July was cleaning the floor when the post office came.

2. ....................................................................................................?

Elisa broke the window when she went downstairs.

3. ....................................................................................................?

4. ....................................................................................................?

5. ....................................................................................................?

6. ....................................................................................................?

Cathy gave Alan a €10 note yesterday.

3 4 5 6

E. Look at the pictures and try to tell the story. The following list of words may be useful.

Last Friday, Mrs Anderson, steak, cream, apple pie, set the table, realise, jump, take, scream, chase,

scream, leap, broom, overbalance, spill, tablecloth.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

F. Now read the text and put the verbs in the correct tense.

Last Friday, Mrs. Anderson ................................................ (plan) to have a delicious dinner. She

................................................ (buy) a T-bone steak and some cream and apples for an apple pie.

When she ................................................ (come) home from the shops she

................................................ (put) her shopping on the table. While she

................................................ (set) the table, her two pets ................................................ (sit)

underneath it and ................................................(watch) her. Then she

................................................ (go) to the kitchen to make the pastry for the pie. She was a little

forgetful so she................................................ (not/realise) the steak, cream and apples were still

on the table. While she ................................................ (make) the pastry, the dog

................................................ (jump) on a chair and looked longingly at the steak. At last it

................................................ (take) the steak in its mouth and ................................................

(jump) off the chair, just as Mrs. Anderson ................................................ (come) back into the

dining room. Mrs. Anderson ................................................(scream), but the dog

................................................(run) into the garden. She ................................................ (run)

after the dog. While she ................................................(chase) the dog, the cat

................................................(jump) on the table and ................................................(start)

drinking the cream. Mrs. Anderson ................................................ (not/manage) to catch the dog,

and she ................................................(come) back into the dining room. When she

................................................(see) the cat, she ................................................(shriek), and the

cat got such a fright that it ................................................(jump) a metre into the air, and

................................................(leap) out the window. Mrs. Anderson

................................................(throw) her broom at the cat, but she

................................................(miss), and ................................................(break) the window. At

the same time, she ................................................(overbalance) and put her hand in the cream,

spilling it all over the tablecloth. Poor Mrs. Anderson - she ................................................(have) no

dinner, only a dirty tablecloth and a broken window.

G. Answer these questions about the story. Answer in complete sentences.

1. What did Mrs. Anderson plan? ..............................................................................

2. Why did she buy cream and apples? ..............................................................................

3. When did her pets watch her? ..............................................................................

4. Where did she leave the steak? ..............................................................................

5. When did the dog jump on the chair? ..............................................................................

6. How did the dog look at the steak? ..............................................................................

7. When did the dog jump off the chair? ..............................................................................

The Past Simple and the Past Participle of REGULAR VERBS in English end in –ed:

Inf Past S. Past Participle

Work worked worked

But there are 3 different pronunciations for the same ending:

/id/ after the sounds /T/ or /D/

=> wanted, decided

/t/ after voiceless sounds: – p – k – s – ch – sh – f – x – h

=> laughed, talked

/d/ after voiced sounds: – l – v – n – m – r – b – v – g – w – y – z – and vowel sounds, vowels and

diphthongs

=> remembered, cleaned

H. Now write the past Simple of theses verbs and classify them according to the

pronunciation of the final –ed.

help look end like stop start wash

close taste move collect sound prefer want

jump play record listen work change add

push invent escape interview rain need travel

receive act answer wonder ask rest accept

chat

t d id