Lesson 69: Unit 123 - Grammar

About this lesson

In this lesson you will consolidate the use of the three main past tenses in English: Past Simple, Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous. You will work with three authentic texts that tell stories from the past, and you will learn when to use each tense. By filling in gaps you will understand how actions are ordered chronologically in a past narrative. The lesson closely follows the material taught by the teacher in class, with real sentences and corrections.

40 minutes

What you'll learn

• Recognise and use the Past Simple for actions that happened in the past
• Form and use the Past Perfect for actions that happened before another past action
• Form and use the Past Perfect Continuous for ongoing actions before a moment in the past
• Fill in gaps with the correct past form of the verb
• Understand the chronological order of events in a past narrative

Lesson vocabulary

• left (leave) I'm sorry I left without you last night.
• had told (tell) I had told you to meet me early because the show started at 8.
• had been trying (try) I had been trying to get tickets for that play for months.
• didn't want (not want) I didn't want to miss it.
• had had (have) I had had five cups of coffee by the time I left.
• had been waiting (wait) I had been waiting over an hour.
• had arranged (arrange) I had arranged to meet Kathy in front of the theater.
• had already picked up (pick up) Kathy had already picked up the tickets.
• had been waiting (wait) She was really angry because she had been waiting for more than half an hour.
• had almost given up (give up) She said she had almost given up and had gone into the theater without us.
• had hung up (hang up) After I had hung up my coat, I sat down and examined the menu.
• had been sitting (sit) After I had been sitting for half an hour and nothing had happened, I beckoned to the waiter.
• had passed on (pass on) I asked him if he had passed on my order.
• had been studying (study) I knew English quite well because I had been studying it for nearly ten years.
• had been walking (walk) After I had been walking around for an hour, I decided to ask a policeman the way.

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In other languages: Български