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1. Read the opening paragraph of a story. Why does the narrator notice the tall man?
With my backpack in my hands. I stepped off the train onto the crowded platform. It was 7.30 in the evening. People were hurrying home. A mother and her two young children were sitting on a bench. The mother was talking to the boy, but he wasn't looking at her. The girl was singing quietly and playing with a toy. Around them, travellers were shouting greetings, waving goodbye, carrying heavy bags or running to catch trains. A very tall man was standing completely still near the exit. Why was he wearing summer clothes in this weather? And why was he looking straight at me?
2. Read the Learn this! box. Then find all the examples of the past continuous in the text in exercise 1.
| LEARN THIS! Past continuous a. We often use the past continuous to set the scene. It was snowing. Two men were walking towards the house. b. We use the past continuous to talk about an action that was in progress at a particular time. At midnight, I was doing my homework. |
| ⇒ Grammar Builder 2B Past continuous: page 110 |
3. Complete the paragraph below with the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Do not repeat the subject or was/ were if they are not necessary.
I left the hotel early the next morning. Already, the sun (1) _____ (shine) brightly and the temperature (2) _____ (rise). In the square, cafe owners (3) _____ (carry) tables outside. A dog (4) _____ (lie) on the pavement nearby, but it (5) _____ (not sleep). Two teenage girls (6) _____ (sit) on a bench (7) _____ (share) headphones. What (8) _____ (they/ listen) to?
4. SPEAKING Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions about the people in the texts in exercises 1 and 3.
What were they doing?
| 1. the mother 2. the boy 3. the girl 4. the other travellers | 5. the tall man 6. the cafe owners 7. the dog 8. the teenage girls |
What were the mother doing?
She was ...
5. Imagine that yesterday you arrived in the centre of a new city. Write sentences in the past continuous to describe the scene. Use the words below or your own ideas.
A tourist was reading a book.
| a tourist some birds two taxi drivers a street vendor a police officer some schoolchildren a shop owner some workmen some shoppers | stand/sit argue/ fight take photos eat/ drink talk on the phone read a book/ magazine laugh/ smile/ sing walk/ run/ ride a bike |
6. Work in pairs. Swap the sentences you wrote in exercise 5. Choose three of your partner's sentences and write a question about each one using the past continuous.
A tourist was reading a book.
What book was the tourist reading?
7. SPEAKING Ask and answer the questions you wrote in exercise 6.
What book was the tourist reading?
A travel guide to the city.
