Exercise 32. Comment on the use of the Past Indefinite, Past Continuous, Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous

1. The cook

Used

to snatch away the letters from home, before she [Ma Parker]

Had read

them. (Mansfield) 2. As she neared the kitchen, Chris came from the garage where he'

D been attending

to a lorry with a magneto trouble, wiping his hands on some waste. (Lindsay) 3. She

Was

always

Telling

herself that the only rational course was to make Edward a final statement of her intentions, then break off all communications. (Maugham) 4. I realized that he

Had come away

with me in order to discuss once more what he

Had been

already

Discussing

for hours with his sister-in-law. (Maugham) 5. I saw that it was 2 o'clock. We

Had been

sitting

there an hour and a half. (Du Maurier) 6. It

Had

long

Been

dark when Arthur rang at the front door of the.great house in the Via Borra. (Voynich) 7. It was three o'clock. The wind

Had fallen

, the moon

Was shining

over the quiet sea. (Christie) 8. Every Sunday morning Ethel

Would read

aloud while Ma Parker did her washing. (Mansfield) 9. We'

D got

to Ruby's room by then. She wasn't there, of course, but she'

D been

there, because the dress she

Had been wearing was lying

across a chair. (Christie) 10. To take off her boots or to put them on

Was

an agony to her, but it

Had been

an agony for years. (Mansfield) 11. Here I saw this man, whom I

Had lost sight

of some time; for I

Had been travelling

in the provinces. (Dickens) 12. When the Gadfly raised his head the sun

Had set

, and the red glow

Was dying

in the west. (Voynich) 13. It was Sunday morning and they

Had

all

Been

back at Grayhallock for three days. (Murdoch) 14. Rainborough noticed that she

Had been crying

, her face was stained with tears... (Murdoch) 15. Ann

Was

certainly

Being

bravely cheerful in a way which both exasperated Hugh and half compelled his admiration. (Murdoch) 16. The moment the noise

Ceased

, she

Glided

from the room;