2.1. Explain the use of the Past Continuous forms. Translate into Russian.

1. I was shaving while the children were having breakfast.

2. Were you reading a newspaper when I came in?

3. At 8 o'clock on Thursday evening the students of our group were having a meeting.

4. They were revising for their preliminary in English when I arrived.

5. Jane and Lewis were whispering in class while the teacher was looking at them with indignation.

6. At this time yesterday Pete was preparing for his exam in Economics.

7. I fell asleep when I was watching TV.

8. It was raining the whole day yesterday that's why we couldn't take part in the excursion.

9. He was working in the garden from 7 to 8 o'clock yesterday evening and he didn't hear the telephone ring.

10. They were waiting for us when we came back.

2.2. Transform into negative and interrogative forms.

1. I was looking for you all day yesterday.

2. When the phone rang, he was sitting at the breakfast.

3. They were watching TV at 10 o'clock yesterday.

4. At this time yesterday she was meeting them at the airport.

5. It was raining cats and dogs when we got to the station.

6. They were playing cards when the stranger appeared on the deck.

7. The foreigner was speaking slowly because he wanted us to understand the joke.

8. Tom was learning English the whole day yesterday.

9. My friends were playing chess when the light went out.

10. The secretary was still dialling 911 when she saw the burglar again.

2.3. Refer the following actions to the past.

Model: At the moment Ted is taking his exam. (to prepare for)

At this time yesterday Ted was preparing for his exam.

1. Ann is working as a secretary at the moment. (to train for secretarial work)

2. At the moment Susan is having no job. (to work in an art gallery)

3. At the moment we are having a class in English Grammar. (to have a class in Russian)

4. At the moment Andrew is showing the foreign students the main building of our University. (to meet them at the airport)

5. Jill and Ben are breeding pigeons this year. (to breed rabbits)

6. Max is working overtime this month. (to have a rest in Torino)

7. Ted is now learning to drive a car. (to go to classes in computer programming)

8. At the moment she is finishing doing her paperwork. (to report on the project to her boss)

9. We are now putting the project into practice. (to work out its main points only)

10. We are producing a new type of boiler which is 25% more efficient. (to develop)

11. At the moment my fellow-students are working hard at their pronunciation in the language laboratory. (to play basketball in the gymnasium)

12. At the moment the executive manager is having talks with our Australian partners. (to analyse the information on the activities of their company)

13. We are returning home. ( to swim in the sea)

14. The students are correcting their mistakes. (to write a test)

15. At the moment the teacher is dictating some sentences. (to explain the rule)

2.4. Ask your fellow-student:

1. what report he/she was making when you entered the hall;

2. if he/she was doing his/her grammar exercises from 9 to 10 yesterday;

3. when he/she was going to write a letter to his/her parents;

4. who was always making mistakes last term;

5. if the students were asking or answering questions during the lesson;

6. what the students were doing all the time while the teacher was marking their dictations;

7. why he/she was hurrying to the University when you saw him/her;

8. what time he/she was taking his/her exam in Latin yesterday morning;

9. whom he/she was practising the intonation patterns with while you were reading an article;

10. why Ann was constantly lagging behind the group in Grammar;

11. what games they were playing the whole day yesterday;

12. whom he/she was having some practice in spelling with between 5 and 6 o'clock yesterday afternoon;

13. if he/she was reading something interesting when you saw him/her;

14. why he/she wasn't doing anything in the language laboratory while his/her fellow-students were listening to the new poem;

15. why he/she was constantly complaining of being ill.