Solutions upper-intermediate. Unit 1. Past perfect simple and Past perfect continuous

1. Although Colin                  [had written, had been writing] his novel for over a year, he was still only on chapter two.

2 As soon as she                     [had completed, had been completing] her assignment, she emailed it to the school.

3 Jack                     [had appeared, had been appearing] in ten different professional musical before he was twenty.

4 Simon still hadn’t got a ticket even though he                   [had stood, had been standing] in a queue for over three hours.

5 Although I                     [hadn’t known, hadn’t been knowing] Hisham for very long, we were already really good friends.

1. My brother is really          [vain, stingy, bossy] . He hates spending his money, and never lends me any.

2 Sally’s really nice, but very               [gullible, judgemental, spontaneous]. She believes anything you tell her.

3 Georgia is so                [untrustworthy, industrious, insecure] that she thinks everybody is talking about her all the time.

4 Amy is just about the most             [cautious, sociable, sympathetic] person I know – she’s always going to parties and meeting new people.

5 Adam never listens to me. He always does things his own way. He’s incredibly              [stubborn, considerate, selfless] .

Match the sentence halves to make compound adjectives.

Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the past perfect simple or continuous. If both are possible, choose the continuous form.

The 2015 Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the same theatre which            (host) the previous fourteen ceremonies. Before the ceremony, many critics             (think) that the film Boyhood was the favourite to win. In the end, though, Birdman won the Oscar for Best Film. It starred Michael Keaton, an actor who, at the time of filming,                  (work) in the industry for almost forty years. Keaton got his big break in 1988 when he played the lead role in the comedy film Beetlejuice. Before that, he          (be) a comedy actor on the stage and on TV for many years. Like so many other people, Keaton                 (not expect) Birdman to win an Oscar.