Activities: “How to use the past continuous in English?”
Activity 1: UFO sighting in Scoopville!
Read the article below, and identify all of the verbs that are in the past continuous.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Mrs Margaret Crawthorn told us this morning. “I was sitting in the living room, listening to the radio, when I heard something outside that made the front window shake.”*
The Spicewaters were having a normal evening at home when they noticed the sound. “It wasn’t an explosion,” Paul Spicewater said. “It sounded like a low, long, deep horn.” His wife, Sharon, added, “We were just watching News 5, you know, the kids were playing cards in the kitchen, and it was like a big, fat cow mooed, a really long moooooooo! We all ran to the front porch. The UFO was floating in the sky, and my son, Bobby, drew a picture of it!”
Everyone in town heard that cow-like sound, but some actually saw where it came from. Jess McQue, who owns the car repair shop on Main Street, got the best view. “I was closing the shop when the garage door started to vibrate. I was turning around when something flashed in the sky. Just as I was looking up, I saw a huge flying saucer. The sound was coming from that UFO!”
Sheriff Greg Brandon issued a statement. He wants everyone in Scoopville to keep calm. “We were following the UFO into the countryside when it just disappeared. I don’t think it will come back. Everyone was feeling frightened last night when it flew over, but now I think the danger is past.”
Strangely, no one could take a photo of the UFO or record the sound because while it was passing over Scoopville, all electronic devices, like telephones or televisions, stopped working. After it was gone, everything went back to normal.
Bobby’s picture of the UFO
Activity 2: What set the scene for what?
Use the article in Activity 1 to answer the questions below! Match “what was happening” to “what happened.” Base your answer on the news story.
when they noticed the sound.
when they heard a strange sound.
when the garage door started to vibrate.
when something flashed in the sky.
all telephones stopped working.
when it just disappeared.
when it flew over.
he saw a huge flying saucer.
when she heard something outside.
and Bobby drew a picture of it!
Activity 3: What were you doing?
You’ve had an “encounter” with a UFO. You are giving an interview to a television reporter. Can you explain what was happening, or what happened? Think about where you were, what you were doing when each of these events happened to you.
have dinner
when I heard the loud sound.
look out the window
when I saw the UFO.
stand on back porch
when the UFO landed in my backyard.
feel scared
when the UFO door opened.
run inside
when the little green man said “hello.”
lock the door
when the UFO landed in my backyard.
call police
when the UFO landed in my backyard.
