Solutions for Chapter 8, Expressing the Past, Collins English Grammar and Composition Class 7

Reference Book	Collins Revised English Grammar and Composition Class 7
Chapter Number	Chapter 8
Chapter Name	Expressing the Past

Let’s Get started (Page 52)

Match the actions in column A with the descriptions of the actions in column B:

Column A	Column B
1) By the time Pratim turned fifty, he had been painting for forty years.	c) action going on over a period of time in the past.
2) Pratim painted only landscapes until last year.	b) habitual past action
3) Pratim had painted a cityscape of Mumbai last year which sold for a huge sum.	d) an action that took place before another action in the past
4) Pratim finished a painting yesterday.	a) an action which happened in the recent past

A) Complete the passage with the Simple Past Tense of the given verbs: (Page 53) 

It was (be) wonder of nature. Three leopards in an African forests played (play) with a young fawn, but they did (do) not harm him. The fawn walked (walk) around the predators on unsteady legs, while they licked (lick) the little thing. After a while, they let (let) it go. Was it one of those incredible stories of predators who turned (turn) nurturers? The wildlife photographer who captured (capture) the incredible incident disagreed (disagreed) . ‘I think both parties were just curious’. The photos soon made (make) their way into social media. ‘Leopards show Bambi some love’, declared (declare) the newspaper headlines.

B) Read the sentences and rewrite them with used to : (Page 53) 

1) Grandma walked four kilometers every day in the morning to go to school.

1) Grandma used to walk four kilometers every day in the morning to go to school.

2) She studied hard and did well in class.

2) She used to study hard and did well in class.

3) She went to St Mary’s School.

3) She used to go to St Mary’s School.

4) She played with her friends in the evening.

4) She used to play with her friends in the evening.

5) She listened to stories told by her mother at night.

5) She used to listen to stories told by her mother at night.

C) Fill in the blanks with the Simple Past or the Present Perfect Tense of the given verbs: (Page 54) 

1. Rupa finished (finish) her MA in 2005. She has joined (join) the University of Reading for her PhD.

2. She has never gone (never go) to the United Kingdom but she lived (live) in the USA for a year as an exchange student.

3. While walking down a crowded street, she loudly exclaimed, ‘Oh no! I have lost (lose) my phone!’

4. Jonas read (read) seven books last week.

5. Thomas visited (visit) Australia when he was young.

6. The ship’s crew launched (launch) the lifeboats as soon as they noticed that the vessel had developed a fault.

7. Sana and Rosa have lived (live) in eight countries, so they know a lot about the cultures of different nations.

8. Ouch! I just cut (cut) my hand using the can opener.

D. Fill in the blanks with the Simple Past or the Past Continuous Tense of the given verbs: (Page 55) 

1. When I reached (reach) home, everyone was sleeping (sleep) .

2. While travelling to Delhi by train, we made (make) lots of new friends.

3. Although it was snowing (snow), the plane took off (take off).

4. Katrina was cycling (cycle) when she had (have) an accident.

5. The grandchildren were wrapping (wrap) birthday gifts when their grandfather walked (walk) into the room.

6. I was walking (walk) home yesterday evening when the lights went (go) off.

7. Sindhu was sitting (sit) in a cafe when you called (call).

8. Who was waiting (wait) for Vinod when he arrived (arrive) at the dentist’s clinic?

E. Fill in the blanks with the Simple Past or the Past Perfect Tense of the given verbs:

(Page 56)

1. I’m sure I had turned (turn) the gas off before I went (go) to the gym.

2. She had thought (think) of inviting many people to the party initially, but she changed  (change) her mind later.

3. Geeta had lived (live) in Delhi all her life until she moved (move) to Kolkata.

4. Dhanush told us that he had already sold (already sell) his house.

5. I had already waited (already wait) for the taxi for an hour before I realised (realise) that it wasn’t coming.

6. The student had completed (complete) several chapters by the time the teachers informed (inform) them that the exam had been cancelled.

7. James exclaimed (exclaim) that he had forgotten (forget) to bring the birthday gift.

8. Suneet had finished (finish) his assignments, so he came (come) to watch a film with us.

F. Fill in the blanks with the Simple Past or the Past Perfect Continuous Tense of the given verbs: (Page 56 , 57) 

1. My sister had been trying (try) to repair the cooler all day.

2. Sidney had been singing (sing) for two years before he met (meet) David and they had formed (form) a band together.

3. I had been studying (study) for two hours by the time the clock struck (Strike) one.

4. When I became (become) friends with Dinesh and Shobhna in 2009, the brother-sister duo had been taking (take) care of animals at their shelter for ten years.

5. Sarah had been practising ( practise) her badminton shots for an hour.

6. Eighty-year-old Savitri had been narrating (narrate) stories of her childhood in Lahore to her granddaughter when the little girl asked (ask) her a question.

G. Complete the passage with the correct Past tenses of the given verbs: (Page 57)

The ferry waited (wait) at its usual post by the ghat. It was (be) 1 o’clock. By that time, the flower seller had peddled (peddle) her wares for two hours, the fruit seller had been doing (do) brisk business through the day. His mangoes were (be) especially popular. No one knew when it happened (happen), but all of a sudden, there was (be) a shrill cry, followed by shouts of ‘Help! Get him out of the water!’ The cry was (be) that of a mother. A minute ago, she was minding (mind) her younger son and had noticed ( not notice) that the elder one was inching (inch) towards the water as he was playing (play) . The boy’s saviour was (be) an unlikely one. One of the stray dogs who hung (hang) around the ghat in the hopes of scraps thrown by passers-by jumped (jump) into the water as soon as he saw (see) the boy fall in. The brave creature held (hold) on to the boy’s shirt by his teeth and dragged (drag) him back to the ghat. Why did (do) he do it? Perhaps it was (be) universal kindness that binds all God’s creatures together.

Let Us Write Complete the following sentences meaningfully: (Page 57)

1) Vimal had finished his breakfast before heading to work.

2) Meenal went to the USA after she  received her visa approval.

3) Teena hadn’t studied French before joining the language course.

4) My mother didn’t say anything until i haven’t done anything

5) By the time he got a taxi, it had already become quite dark.

6) She lived here for four years before she got married to NRI.