My Perspectives 4, lesson 8E: Narrative past tenses

While Pam ______ ready for the concert, Tom was surfing on the net.

• was getting

• would get

• had been getting

• had got

I was ______ buy the CD when I realised I had already got it from my friend.

• about to

• on the point of

• going

• on the verge

We ______ to get some good seats, but we arrived too late.

• were hoping

• would hope

• were about

• were on the point

The meeting with the author ______ place last Friday.

• was about to take

• was due to take

• would certainly take

• was always taking

How many times ______ to contact the actor before she finally succeeded?

• had the journalist tried

• will the journalist try

• will the journalist be trying

• had the journalist been trying

When recording that song, they had no idea it _____ become a number one hit.

• would

• was intending to

• was about to

• should

He ______ research for over half a year before he finally decided to write the article detailing his work.

• has done

• was going to do

• had been doing

• was to do

Claire was ______ lending him the book, but she realised she needed it herself.

• on the point of

• going to

• about

• on the verge

By the time Kim become a best-selling author, she ______ ten novels.

• already wrote

• has already written

• had already written

• was about to write

The project ______ highly successful, but we didn’t know that at that time.

• was about to be

• would be

• was intending to be

• was hoping