Past Simple and Continuous (Ancient Civilizations)

• Ancient Egypt:

• "The construction of the pyramids, which ___ (to take) decades, is often said to have relied on a workforce that ___ (to conscript) from the general populace."

Mesopotamia (Sumerians and Babylonians):

• "Had Hammurabi not issued his code of laws, many of the legal principles that ___ (to establish) at that time might not ___ (to influence) modern law."

Ancient Greece:

• "While the Parthenon ___ (to construct) atop the Acropolis, the Athenians ___ (to engage) in battles against the Persians."

• was constructed / were engaging

• was being constructed / were engaging

• being constructed / engaging

• constructed / engaging

1. Indus Valley Civilization:

   • "Mohenjo-daro, one of the largest settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization, ___ (to feature) an advanced drainage system that ___ (to envy) by many modern engineers."

• • featured, has been envied

• • featured, envied

• • featured, has envied

• • featured, been envied

1. Ancient Rome:

   • "If the Romans ___ (to discover) concrete earlier, their architectural achievements ___ (to expand) even further."

1. Ancient China (Shang and Zhou Dynasties):

   • "Had the Zhou Dynasty not implemented the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, it ___ (to be) unlikely that subsequent dynasties ___ (to justify) their rule in the same way."

• • implemented, justified

• • had implemented, have justified

• • had implemented, would have justified

• • had implemented, would justified

1. Mesoamerica (Maya and Aztec):

   • "Although the Maya ___ (to develop) a highly accurate calendar, they ___ (to predict) the exact timing of their own civilization’s decline."

1. Ancient Persia:

   • "By the time Persepolis ___ (to fall) to Alexander the Great, many of its treasures ___ (to loot) by invading forces."

1. Ancient Japan (Yayoi Period):

   • "If the Yayoi people ___ (to introduce) rice cultivation earlier, the population ___ (to expand) much faster."

• introduced, expanded

• • had introduced, have expanded

• • introduced, would have expanded

• • had introduced, would have expanded

1. Phoenicia:

• "It is believed that had the Phoenicians not developed their phonetic alphabet, the Greeks ___ (to be) less likely to create their own."

• • had developed, would have been

• • developed, been

• • had developed, would been

• • had developed, have been