Практикум по грамматике английского языка : учебное пособие

ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS
I
you
Had he/she been talking with the manager or his secretary? – (With) his secretary.
We
you
they
Had it been raining all night or only at dawn? — All night.
Exercise 16. Ask alternative questions with the following words. Give 
answers.
Example: You/read/for/an hour/two hours/before you turned on the TV?
Had you been reading for an hour or two hours before you turned on the TV? 
— (I’d been reading) for two hours.
1. You/sit/in the sunshine/for/about thirty minutes/an hour/when you suddenly 
felt sick?
2. There were books everywhere. She/read books/tidy up her room?
3. Dave/smoke/for 20 years/less/before he gave up that bad habit?
4. They/wait/for the train/for a few minutes/longer?

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5. Carla/travel/for/a week/two weeks/before she finally got there?
6. He/try to get/Julia/her sister/on the phone?
7. The Greens/live/in Norway/in Denmark/for five years before they moved to 
Holland.
8. Pete and Alice/quarrel/seldom/regularly/before they finally broke up?
SPECIAL QUESTIONS
What had your son been doing when you came back from work? — Playing com-
puter games.
What had she been cooking when you got home? — A cake.
When had they been shopping all day? — Last Saturday.
Where had the soldiers been marching? — To the parade.
Where had they been living before they left for Hungary? — In Poland.
Why had you been phoning her every day for a month? — I just don’t know.
What kind of film had Patrick been watching when his mother entered the room? 
— A Western.
Which serial had your grandpa been watching all last week? — “Unknown War”.
Whose (friends) had Helen been staying with before she found a hotel? — Peter’s.
How (in what way) had they been trying to get in touch with her? — By cellphone.
How fast had he been driving when he knocked down a child? — At about 100 km 
an hour.
How much had she been earning when she asked for promotion? — Not very 
much, I guess.
How long had you been corresponding with your penfriend? — For about a year.
OBJECT QUESTIONS
Who had you been calling every day for the past week? — A colleague of mine. 
What had you been waiting for when I ran into you? — The bus.
SUBJECT QUESTIONS
Who had — been doing up the room all day? — The decorators. 
What had — been going on at Harry’s place all last night? — A stag party.
Exercise 17. Ask questions about the information in italics.
1. Sally had been walking round the town for a few hours when she decided to 
have lunch.
2. We’d been waiting for your call all evening.
3. She’d been cooking all day for the party that evening.

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4. Jill had been painting her room before her friends called in.
5. Sam had been using that fountain pen for some time.
6. He’d been standing outside for over two hours when he felt cold.
7. They’d been trying to telephone her all the weekend.
8. Liz had been watching an interesting TV programme before she went out 
for a walk.
9. The children had been doing their homework all Friday evening.
10. The Browns had been staying at the Hilton because their friends couldn’t 
put them up.
11. Terry and Ellen had been going to the theatre when I met them.
12. Greta had been looking through the ‘Vogue’ magazine when Paul dropped in.
13. Peggy had been waiting for Daniel’s call that evening.
14. They’d been walking 3 kilometres an hour.
15.  A forest fire had been raging for a fortnight.
16. Wendy put on weight last month. She’d been eating too much fatty food.
17. Tim had been shooting films with his father’s movie camera.