PAST TENSES

Choose the correct answer:

By the time the bus arrived, we ....... for an hour and a half.

• had been waiting

• have been waiting

• had waited

• waited

Answer explanation

Using the past perfect continuous tense to describe an action that started in the past and continued up to a specific point in the past.

Diễn tả một hành động bắt đầu trong quá khứ và tiếp diễn đến một thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ.

Choose the correct answer:

When I ..... the essay, I gave it to the teacher.

• had been finishing

• had finished

• was finishing

• have finished

Answer explanation

We use had finished (past perfect tense) here because it shows that the action of finishing the essay was completed before giving it to the teacher - one action happened before the other in the past.

-> Hành động "finishing the essay" được hoàn thành trước khi đưa nó cho giáo viên - một hành động xảy ra trước một hành động khác trong quá khứ

Choose the correct answer:

We ...... for nearly an hour before we finally got in.

• have queued

• had been queueing

• were queueing

• queued

Answer explanation

Step by Step Explanation:

Identify the time frame: The sentence talks about an action that started in the past and continued for some time before another past event. (một hành động bắt đầu trong quá khứ và tiếp tục trong một thời gian trước một sự kiện quá khứ khác)

Recognize the duration: The phrase 'for nearly an hour' indicates a specific period of time in the past.

Choose the correct tense: Use past perfect continuous (had been + verb+ing) to show an action that started earlier and continued up to a specific point in the past. (chỉ một hành động bắt đầu sớm hơn và tiếp tục cho đến một thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ)

Apply the tense: 'had been queueing' correctly expresses the continuous past action of queueing before finally getting in.

Choose the correct answer:

The teacher ..... in while Jane ..... a joke.

• came / was telling

• was coming/ was telling

• was coming / told

• had come/ had been telling

Answer explanation

When describing two past actions where one interrupts (gián đoạn) the other, we use the past simple (came) for the interrupting action (hành động chen vào) and past continuous (was telling) for the ongoing action (hành động đang diễn ra)

- the joke telling was in progress when the teacher entered the room.

Choose the correct answer:

I ... the sauce while Bob ... up the vegetables.

• prepared/ cut

• was preparing/ was cutting

• were preparing/ were cutting

• had prepared/ has been cutting

Answer explanation

When describing two actions happening at the same time in the past, we use the past continuous tense (was preparing / was cutting) to show both actions were ongoing together.

Choose the correct answer:

By the time Paul got to the party we .... all the food.

• had eaten

• had been eating

• ate

• eaten

Answer explanation

The sentence uses the past perfect tense (had eaten) because we're describing an action (eating) that was completed before another past action (Paul getting to the party).

Diễn tả một hành động đã hoàn thành trước một hành động khác trong quá khứ.

Choose the correct answer:

I missed our History test because you ..... me about it.

• didn't tell

• hadn't told

• weren't telling

• hasn't told

Answer explanation

The past perfect tense hadn't told is used here because it shows that one past action (not being told) happened before another past action (missing the test).
Hành động xảy ra trước hành động khác trong quá khứ

Choose the correct answer:

I was sure I .... that woman before but I couldn’t remember when and where.

• had seen

• saw

• had been seeing

• have been seeing

Answer explanation

We use had seen (past perfect tense) because the person is talking about an experience (trải nghiệm) that happened before another event in the past (đã xảy ra trước một sự kiện khác trong quá khứ)- they were sure about seeing the woman at some point before the moment they tried to remember when and where.

Choose the correct answer:

The dog ate our lunch while we ........ .

• wasn't watching

• didn't watch

• weren't watching

Choose the correct answer:

When I __________________ to school this morning, I saw a dangerous accident involving three cars.

• was cycling

• cycled

• had cycled

• had been cycling

Answer explanation

When describing an action that was happening at the same time as another event in the past, we use was cycling to show the continuous action