Past. Поставьте глаголы в скобках в правильную форму. 1. It … (to snow) for five hours before the weather changed. 2. Betty and Jane … (to argue) for half an hour when their parents returned home. 3. Why did Ed miss his train yesterday? — He couldn’t come because he … (to prepare) his project all day yesterday. 4. … Isabel … (to work) as a secretary for four years before she moved to another town? — No, she … She … (to work) as a secretary just for two years. 5. … Pete … (to play) computer games all the evening last Friday? — No, he … He … (to write) an essay for two hours and then he went for a walk. 6. Jean … (not to wait) for our boss all the morning yesterday. She … (to speak) to some clients for about an hour and then she went to the bank. 7. Kevin was exhausted because he … (to unload) the lorry for three hours. 8. I was really happy that Ron won that competition because he … (to prepare) for it for half a year. 9. … you … (to save) money for a new computer for a long time? — Yes, I … I … (not to spend) a penny for six months before I got a sufficient sum. 10. Cathy and Sue … (to tidy) our cottage house for two days after that birthday party.

Перевод задания: Past. Поставьте глаголы в скобках в правильную форму.

1. It had been snowing for five hours before the weather changed. (Снег шёл пять часов, прежде чем погода изменилась.)
2. Betty and Jane had been arguing for half an hour when their parents returned home. (Бетти и Джейн спорили уже полчаса, когда родители вернулись домой.)
3. Why did Ed miss his train yesterday? — He couldn’t come because he had been preparing his project all day yesterday. (Почему Эд вчера опоздал на поезд? — Он не успел, потому что весь день готовил проект.)
4. Had Isabel worked as a secretary for four years before she moved to another town? — No, she hadn’t. She had worked as a secretary just for two years. (Работала ли Изабель секретарём четыре года до переезда в другой город? — Нет. Она проработала секретарём всего два года.)
5. Had Pete been playing computer games all the evening last Friday? — No, he hadn’t. He had been writing an essay for two hours and then he went for a walk. (Играл ли Пит в компьютерные игры весь вечер в прошлую пятницу? — Нет. Он два часа писал сочинение, а потом пошёл гулять.)
6. Jean hadn’t been waiting for our boss all the morning yesterday. She had been speaking to some clients for about an hour and then she went to the bank. (Жан не ждала нашего начальника всё утро вчера. Она около часа разговаривала с клиентами, а затем пошла в банк.)
7. Kevin was exhausted because he had been unloading the lorry for three hours. (Кевин выбился из сил, потому что три часа разгружал грузовик.)
8. I was really happy that Ron won that competition because he had been preparing for it for half a year. (Я был очень рад, что Рон выиграл соревнование, потому что он готовился к нему полгода.)
9. Had you been saving money for a new computer for a long time? — Yes, I had. I hadn’t spent a penny for six months before I got a sufficient sum. (Ты долго копил деньги на новый компьютер? — Да. Я не потратил ни пенни за шесть месяцев, прежде чем накопил достаточную сумму.)
10. Cathy and Sue had been tidying our cottage house for two days after that birthday party. (Кэти и Сью убирали наш загородный дом два дня после той вечеринки.)

Past Perfect Continuous подчёркивает длительность действия, продолжавшегося до другого момента в прошлом. В пункте 4 подходит Past Perfect Simple: указан завершённый период работы, а не её длительность как процесса.