1 Dan(watch) TV when the lights went out
2 They were very tired. They(travel) for more than five hours.
3 The football players (play) for an hour when it(start) raining.
4 Mark (study) French for 5 years before he(move) to Paris.
5 When it(start) raining, he was in the garden.
6 We...(hope) to go on holiday, but we couldn’t afford it and stayed at home.
7 He (be) happy because he(win) the lottery.
8 She(live) in New York in 2007.
9 Mary(make) up her mind not to take part in the competition.
Explanation: "Dan was watching TV" is in the past continuous tense, which is used to describe an action that was happening at a specific time in the past. "When the lights went out" indicates that the lights suddenly turned off during the action of watching TV.
2. They were very tired. They had been traveling for more than five hours.
Explanation: "They were very tired" indicates their state of being at a specific time in the past. "They had been traveling" is in the past perfect continuous tense, which is used to describe an action that started in the past and continued up until another point in the past. "For more than five hours" indicates the duration of their continuous traveling.
3. The football players had been playing for an hour when it started raining.
Explanation: "The football players had been playing" is in the past perfect continuous tense, which is used to describe an action that started in the past and continued up until another point in the past. "For an hour" indicates the duration of their continuous playing. "When it started raining" indicates that the action of playing was interrupted by the rain.
4. Mark had been studying French for 5 years before he moved to Paris.
Explanation: "Mark had been studying French" is in the past perfect continuous tense, which is used to describe an action that started in the past and continued up until another point in the past. "For 5 years" indicates the duration of his continuous studying. "Before he moved to Paris" indicates that the action of studying was completed before the action of moving to Paris.
5. When it started raining, he was in the garden.
Explanation: "When it started raining" indicates the specific time when the action of raining began. "He was in the garden" is in the past continuous tense, which is used to describe an action that was happening at a specific time in the past. This sentence indicates that "he" was in the garden when the rain started.
6. We had hoped to go on holiday, but we couldn’t afford it and stayed at home.
Explanation: "We had hoped" is in the past perfect tense, which is used to describe an action that occurred before another action in the past. "To go on holiday" indicates the action that was hoped for. "But we couldn't afford it" explains the reason why the action did not happen. "And stayed at home" indicates the action that followed the inability to afford going on holiday.
7. He was happy because he had won the lottery.
Explanation: "He was happy" describes his state of being at a specific time in the past. "Because he had won the lottery" explains the reason for his happiness. It indicates that the action of winning the lottery occurred before his state of being happy.
8. She lived in New York in 2007.
Explanation: "She lived" is in the past simple tense, which is used to describe a past event that occurred once, with no duration. "In New York" indicates her location at a specific time in the past. "In 2007" specifies the year she lived in New York.
9. Mary made up her mind not to take part in the competition.
Explanation: "Mary made up her mind" means that she decided. "Not to take part in the competition" explains the decision she made.