The past perfect continuous

Exercise 41.

Form Participle I from the following infinitives. Comment on the spelling changes.

Model. to sip – sipping	We double the final -P because it comes after the short stressed vowel.
to prefer – preferring	We double the final -R in the stressed syllable in the polysyllabic verb if it has no diphthong.
to die – dying	We change the final -IE into -Y.

to confer, to stop, to lie, to travel, to study, to traffic, to tie, to begin, to say, to nod, to be, to offer, to buy, to appear, to conceal, to pay, to cancel, to hop, to play, to dictate.

Exercise 42.

(a) Make the following sentences negative and interrogative. Comment on the way of forming.

Model. He’d been writing the letter for an hour by that time.	He had not been writing the letter for an hour by that time.
	Had he been writing the letter for an hour by that time?
In the negative sentence we place the negative particle NOT after the first part (had) of the auxiliary verb TO BE.
In the interrogative sentence we place the first part (had) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject.

1. Ann had been typing the document for half an hour when he came.

2. They had been living there since 1993.

3. Tom had been waiting for Jerry for an hour by that time.

4. I had been working in Rio for two years by the time she found me.

5. We’d been playing tennis since 6 o’clock.

6. She had been translating the article since that time.

7. Jane had been crying all night.

8. The police officers had been questioning the suspects the whole day.

9. It had been snowing since morning.

10. They had been building that stadium for a year by that time.

(b) Put questions to the words in bold type.

1. Sheila had been talking on the phone since 6 o’clock.

2. We’d been discussing John’s speech for half an hour when he came.

3. They were tired. They’d been playing in the garden.

4. I’d been working for that firm since 1997.

5. Pete had been doing his homework for half an hour when his parents came home.

6. Our mother had been cooking breakfast for half an hour when we got up.

7. Everyone was laughing. He’d been telling his silly stories again.

8. He had been living in Oslo for three years by that time.

9. We’d been watching the programme for an hour when they came.

10. The children were frustrated. They had been arguing over which TV programme to watch.

(c) Ask all possible questions.

Our teacher had been explaining the grammar rule to us for ten minutes.

Exercise 43.

Translate the following sentences into Ukrainian and comment on the use of the Past Perfect Continuous.

Model. He’d been writing the letter for an hour by that time.

Він писав листа вже годину до того часу.

had been writing is the form of the Past Perfect Continuous Inclusive Active which denotes an action which began before a definite moment in the past, continued up to that moment and was still in progress at that moment. The for-phrase denotes the whole period of duration of the action. The adverbial by that time denotes the definite moment in the past.

1. Exactly as he had been planning for five months, Michael Kenyon had vanished from the face of earth.

2. We were both soaking wet – I, because I had been sweating; he, because it had been raining just a little while before.

3. Meanwhile Julia had been playing a succession of important parts and was recognized as the best of the younger actresses.

4. Jeremy was standing there. He had been waiting for me the whole time.

5. I ran the Boston Marathon with a partner, Marcia Davis. We had been training together for a year.

6. The whole place was deserted, but it was obvious that someone had been living there.

7. They had been cooking in the kitchen, and they hadn’t bothered to clear up the mess.

8. By the smell in the room and his guilty expression I could tell that Jack had been smoking a cigar.

9. Nancy couldn’t understand why the computer crashed; it had been working perfectly for as long as she could remember.

10. When the race started, it had been raining and the streets were wet.

Exercise 44.

(a) Fill in the gaps with the Past Continuous or the Past Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. When he came home, the children … (to do) their homework. They said they … (to do) it for twenty minutes.

2. It was very late when Mat decided to go home. He was tired as he … (to work) hard.

3. They still … (to quarrel). They … (to quarrel) for half an hour.

4. Tom and Ann … (to practice) the dialogue for ten minutes when the teacher came.

5. Hugo … (to drive) the car for five hours before he saw the gas station.

6. When she saw them, they … (to sit) on the rock and their eyes were red. They … (to dive) a lot.

7. The firemen … (to put out) the fire. They … (to try) to put out the fire since 5 o’clock.

8. Kate came into the room and saw that they still … (to discuss) the situation. They … (to discuss) it for more than an hour.

9. It … (to rain) when we left home. It … (to rain) since morning and the streets were muddy.

10. Jack put aside the letter which he … (to read) and left the room.

(b) Fill in the gaps with the Past Perfect or the Past Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. We went to bed only after our parents … (to share) their impressions of the ballet.

2. Jeffrey … (to wait) for Rachel for more than an hour when she came at last.

3. She was so tired. She … (to wash) the dishes, but she … (not to wash) them all yet.

4. I bought a new watch as I … (to lose) my old one the day before.

5. Nancy said that she already … (to talk) to Jim, but he … (not to admit) his mistake.

6. It … (to snow) for two weeks when good weather set in.

7. He asked me if I … (to do) my homework. I said that I … (to read) the story the whole day, but I … (not to read) it to the end yet.

8. At last I found the dress I … (to look for) all day. My husband was the happiest man in the world. Now we could go to the party.

9. Jerry was so pale that I understood he … (not to be) outdoors for a long time.

10. Then she realized that she … (to make) the biggest mistake in her life.

(c) Fill in the gaps with the Past Indefinite, the Past Continuous, the Past Perfect or the Past Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. I … (to do) Exercise 4 by the time Bob came. At that moment I … (to do) Exercise 5. I … (to do) it for five minutes.

2. George … (to read) Stars over the Field when she returned. He … (to read) that novel since Saturday, but he … (not to read) it yet.

3. She … (to be) completely exhausted. She … (to feel) she needed some rest. She … (to clean up) all day.

4. When Jack came, Mary … (to write) a letter. She … (to write) it for ten minutes before he came. He … (to see) she … (to write) two letters already.

5. We met him in New York. He … (to stay) there for two months by that time. He said that he … (to visit) the US twice.

6. I asked her what she … (to do) with my shoes. She said she … (to clean) them. She … (to clean) one shoe already, but she … (to try) to clean the other for more than half an hour.

7. Phil … (to come) home, … (to take off) his coat and … (to go) to the kitchen. When he … (to have) dinner, he suddenly … (to remember) that he … (not to lock) the garage.

8. We … (to leave) home at 8. A cold wind … (to stop) blowing, but it … (to rain) heavily. It … (to rain) since afternoon.

9. Ralph … (to emigrate) to Canada in 2002. Since that time he … (to live) in Saskatchewan. We … (not to hear from) him for many years when he suddenly … (to arrive) in Birmingham.

10. Jane … (to live) in Australia. She … (to live) there for some time when we got a letter from her. One day she wrote to us that she … (to come) back to England the next month. She also … (to write) that her husband … (to die) and she … (not to want) to stay alone in a foreign country.

Exercise 45.

Translate the following sentences into English using the Past Indefinite, the Past Continuous, the Past Perfect or the Past Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. Коли я прийшов, вони обговорювали фільм, який вони бачили напередодні. Вони обговорювали його більш, ніж годину.

2. Джек прийшов додому, повечеряв та почав дивитись телевізор. Раптом він згадав, що обіцяв відвідати свого друга, який був хворий. Його друг хворів (вже) три дні.

3. Сью жила в Манчестері сім років, а потім переїхала в Бірмінгем. Там вона працювала в бібліотеці впродовж двох років, поки знову не пoвернулася в Манчестер.

4. Він сказав, що вже спакував всі свої речі і придбав квитки. Тепер він сидів у кріслі і читав газету. У нього було ще достатньо часу, оскільки він від’їздив на поїзді о 14.45.

5. Кейт зайшла в кімнату і побачила Джона, який щось писав. Джон глянув на неї, поклав листа, якого він писав, до шухляди, підвівся і пішов привітатися з нею.

6. Пол, який зазвичай був спокійний, поводився досить дивно. Того дня він був такий нервовий. Нам було цікаво, що з ним трапилось. Ми довго просили його розповісти нам все, перш ніж він погодився це зробити.

7. Вчора вони були на вечірці. Вперше вони побачили як танцює Том. Додому повернулися пізно. Ледве вони встигли підійти до воріт, як почався дощ. Тільки тоді вони згадали, що забули ключі в будинку Джулії.

8. Він добре знав англійську. Він почав вивчати цю іноземну мову в школі і продовжив її вивчення в університеті. До того часу, коли він переїхав до Нової Зеландії, він вивчав англійську дванадцять років.

9. Джефрі зупинився перед ворітьми, вийшов з авто і пішов до будинку. Коли він вечеряв, він згадав, що не зачинив авто. Біля воріт авто не було. Він зрозумів, що хтось його викрав.

10. Вона поверталася додому дость пізно. Сутеніло і йшов сильний дощ. На жаль, вона не взяла парасольку. Автомобілі проїжджали повз неї, та раптом одне авто зупинилося. Вона впізнала голос чоловіка, з яким познайомилася напередодні. Вона сіла в авто і за три хвилини була вдома.