Past Progressive: Complete the Sentences and Reading Stories

Individually, considering everyone else, complete the following sentences using the past progressive.

a) My mom's dishwasher ______ (make) strange noises, so I turned it off.

b) While my kids ______ (wait) for their drinks from the coffee machine, it suddenly stopped working.

c) Harrison ______ (get) upset at the ATM when it suddenly returned his card.

d) The department store's self-service kiosks ______ (not function) well until yesterday.

e) My grandpa ______ (speak) to his virtual assistant when it fell off the balcony.

f) The computer's virtual assistant ______ (help) my little brother with his homework when my mom entered the room.

g) Sarah and Lila ______ (read) their robot's instructions, but they couldn't understand them.

h) ______ James and Billy ______ (walk) to school when it started to rain?

i) He ______ (not listen) when we told him to turn the lights on.

Reading

In pairs, read the following stories of three teenagers talking about their newest technological devices:

Susan

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday. My parents bought me a tablet and I was so excited to use it. Late at night, we tried to turn it on, but it didn't work. We thought maybe the battery was low, so we waited until it was fully charged. We tried to turn it on again and again, but nothing changed. Later, we realized that the tablet was defective.

Roger

My best friend Harry and I are saving to buy a video game computer. They are currently selling them for 1,200. We are working extremely hard selling food outside our college to achieve our goal. Harry likes baking, so he is offering cupcakes for 2 each, while I am offering lasagna for $25. We are so close, and we are not planning to stop until we get it.

Tina

My boyfriend and I spent a sunny afternoon in the park. We were carrying a brand-new remote-controlled drone that we bought the previous week. Excitement filled the air as we were preparing to fly it for the first time. While I was reading the instruction manual, my boyfriend was assembling the drone carefully, making sure all the parts were in place. When we turned it on, the drone started to lift off the ground. We were both shouting with joy as it took flight. We explored many wonderful places nearby.

a) Answer the following questions and compare your answers with other pairs:

• Which story is in past progressive? ______
• How many past progressive sentences are there in this story? ______