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Past Simple Continuous

Bobby was daydreaming and reading about magical creatures. At 9pm he heard strange music from his closet. Though scared, he opened the closet door. Thirty minutes later, Bobby's mom found him missing from his room. The document provides exercises on using past tenses to describe Bobby's experience, including filling in blanks and rewriting sentences in various tenses and forms. It also provides scenario options for writing a short story continuing Bobby's story and homework prompts about magical creatures.

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Ana Popescu
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42 views

Past Simple Continuous

Bobby was daydreaming and reading about magical creatures. At 9pm he heard strange music from his closet. Though scared, he opened the closet door. Thirty minutes later, Bobby's mom found him missing from his room. The document provides exercises on using past tenses to describe Bobby's experience, including filling in blanks and rewriting sentences in various tenses and forms. It also provides scenario options for writing a short story continuing Bobby's story and homework prompts about magical creatures.

Uploaded by

Ana Popescu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Past Continuous and Past Simple


- Handout -

I. Story time! Let's read a short text about a boy called Bobby:

Yesterday, Bobby was daydreaming in his room. He was reading about magical creatures and the
enchanted forests they live in. At about 9 PM, he was looking at some pictures of fairies and goblins
when he heard some strange music coming from his closet. 'Wow, that's weird!', Bobby thought to
himself. He got up and looked directly at the closet door. He was a bit scared, but also extremely
curious about the noises. He decided that he wanted to see what was inside. So he took one step
towards the closet. And then he took another step. And then another one. He was getting closer and
closer to the door. His heart was beating harder and harder. He was standing right in front of the
closet. He remembered the dragons, gnomes, knights and witches in his book. Although he was
frightened, he stretched his hand, grabbed the door knob and closed his eyes. 'Here it goes. Three,
two, one... GO!'
Thirty minutes later, Bobby's mom knocked on his bedroom door. 'Bobby! It's bedtime!, she said, 'I
hope you're not reading fantasy stories again!'. But Bobby didn't answer. She waited for a second,
then entered. He wasn't at his desk anymore.

II. Practice

1. Which title works best for our story?


a) Bobby Is Bored
b) Bobby's World
c) Bobby's Chocolate Biscuits

2. Let's sum up! What happened to Bobby yesterday? Which statements are true?
a) Bobby was reading about fairy tales at about 9 PM.
b) He saw a strange little goblin on his bed. The goblin was smiling at him.
c) Bobby's mom was a sorceress. She made delicious potions for him that gave him superpowers.
d) At the time of the story, Bobby was living in a crystal palace. His best friend was a gremlin.
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e) Bobby heard some strange music coming from his closet. Although he was afraid, he opened the
closet door.
f) Bobby's had magical powers. He cast a spell on the closet and the music stopped.

3. In the exercise above we used the Past Simple and the Past Continuous. So, when do we use
these two tenses? Work with a partner.

1.Yesterday, Bobby was quietly studying in his A. We use this tense to describe situations in the
past that happen quickly.
room.
2. 'Wow, that's weird!', Bobby thought to himself. B. This tense is used when something interrupts
another situation in the past. Usually, we also use
3. He stretched his hand, grabbed the door knob
the word 'when' with it.
and closed his eyes.
C. We use this tense when we describe the words
4. At about 9 PM, he was looking at some
of a character in a story.
pictures of fairies, when he heard some strange
D. We use this tense when we talk about
music coming from his closet.
situations in the past that go on for some time
(like reading, swimming, dancing or eating!).

4. Underline the correct tense.


a. When I looked / was looking out of the window goblins danced / were dancing in the streets.
b. We worked / were working in the garden when we found / were finding a treasure map.
c. I was reading / read my new fantasy comic when I was falling / fell asleep.
d. I cleaned / was cleaning my closet when a bat bit / was biting me. Or was it a vampire???
e. When I started / was starting Wizards ’School my mom bought / was buying me a magic wand.
f. I saw / was seeing Big Foot when I flew / was flying on my magic broom.
g
. They were talking / talked about forest gnomes while their mother was baking / baked cookies.
h.
i. She took / was taking her bag, opened / was opening it and she saw / was seeing that two little
'
pixies were hiding / hid inside. The pixies didn’t say anything and weren’t very happy.
', he said / was saying, 'Where did you find fairy dust?'
5. Rewrite the sentences putting the verbs in bold in the negative form:
a. Bobby was studying spells in his room.
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….......................................................................................
b. I saw a goblin eating my sandwich yesterday.
….......................................................................................
c. I went to a wizardry shop yesterday. I bought a sneaky cute owl. (Her name is Boo!!)
….......................................................................................
d. The boys were reading fantasy stories in the school yard.
….......................................................................................
e. Bobby's mom flew to the supermarket on her broom.
….......................................................................................
f. Bobby was dreaming about goblins when the alarm went off.
….......................................................................................
g. She had an imaginary friend when she was little.
….......................................................................................

6. Put the sentences above in the interrogative form.


a. ….......................................................................................
b. ….......................................................................................
c. ….......................................................................................
d. ….......................................................................................
e. ….......................................................................................
f. ….......................................................................................
g. ….......................................................................................

7. Use the questions to interview your partner.


a. Did you believe in dragons when you were little?
b. Did you eat chicken for breakfast?
c. Were you practising spells this morning?
e. Was Bobby reading a history book when he heard music coming from his closet?
f. Did Bobby's mom knock on his bedroom door?
g. Was Bobby interested in aliens and Sci-Fi stories?
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8. Writing our own story: What happened to Bobby?


Working in groups of 3-4 pupils, pick a scenario and write a short story starting from it. You can also
create your own stories!
Scenario A. Bobby opened the closet and saw a magical land inside. Fairies and goblins were dancing
at a party in an enchanted forest.
Scenario B. Bobby was actually dreaming about the music. As he was reading, he fell asleep and
slipped under his desk. When his mother found him, we was sleeping like a log.
Scenario C. Bobby opened the closet and saw his two best friends inside. 'Surprise!', they said, 'It's
your birthday tomorrow. We're having a slumber party! Yay!'.

9. HOMEWORK 1: A long long time ago, the earth was full of many witches, unicorns, dragons,
princesses and knights. Research your favourite fantastical creature. Where did the creature live?
What super powers did it have? What did it look like?
HOMEWORK 2: I heard you found a little goblin in your closet yesterday! What was it doing there?
Tell me about it in 6 lines.

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