LANGUAGE FOCUS O Past continuous: affirmative and negative 3 Complete the sentences using the past continuous. 1 I (not eat) breakfast at 8.00 this morning. I (walk) to school.
2 We (not climb up a mountain on Friday. We (relax) on the beach.
3 Lenka (swim) across the lake at 6 a.m. She (not sleep).
4 You (not listen) to me. You (look) out of the window.
5 They (read) magazines. They (not tidy) their bedroom.
6 I(not play) football last Saturday. I(visit) my cousins in London.
Explanation: The past continuous tense is used to describe an action that was happening in the past at a specific time. In this sentence, the action of eating breakfast was not happening at 8.00, but the action of walking to school was.
2. We were not climbing up a mountain on Friday. We were relaxing on the beach.
Explanation: Again, the past continuous tense is used to describe two actions that were happening in the past. In this sentence, the action of climbing up a mountain was not happening on Friday, but the action of relaxing on the beach was.
3. Lenka was swimming across the lake at 6 a.m. She was not sleeping.
Explanation: Here, the past continuous tense is used to describe two actions that were happening simultaneously in the past. Lenka was swimming across the lake and she was not sleeping.
4. You were not listening to me. You were looking out of the window.
Explanation: Once again, the past continuous tense is used to describe two actions that were happening at the same time in the past. You were not listening to me and you were looking out of the window.
5. They were reading magazines. They were not tidying their bedroom.
Explanation: In this sentence, the past continuous tense is used to describe the action of reading magazines and the action of not tidying their bedroom happening at the same time in the past.
6. I was not playing football last Saturday. I was visiting my cousins in London.
Explanation: Finally, the past continuous tense is used to describe two actions that were happening at the same time in the past. I was not playing football last Saturday and I was visiting my cousins in London.