Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the past simple or the past continuous form the
verbs.
1. Peter ___________ (play) a video game when his brother, Jack, ___________
(enter) the room.
2. I ___________ (study) for my English test when my mother ___________ (come)
home from work.
3. Emma ___________ (wash) the dishes when the telephone ___________ (ring).
4. I ___________ (ate) a sandwich while my parents ___________ (drink) coffee.
5. I ___________ (watch) a DVD when my cat ___________ (jump) on me.
6. I ___________ (not hear) the thunder during the storm last night because I
___________ (sleep)
7. It (be) ___________ beautiful yesterday when we ___________ (go) for a walk in the
park. The sun ___________ (shine). The birds ___________ (sing).
8. My brother and sister ___________ (talk) anout something when I ___________
(walk) into the room.
9. Tom ___________(go) to his friend’s house, but the boys ___________ (not be)
there. They ___________ (play) soccer in the vacant lot down the street.
10. The little boy ___________ (fall) asleep while his mother ___________ (read) him a
story.
11. I really ___________ (enjoy) my holiday last January. While it ___________ (snow)
in Iowa, the sun ___________ (shine) in Floria.
12. It ___________ (snow) when I ___________ (leave) home this morning.
13. It was a sunny afternoon and people ___________ (sit) on the grass in the park.
Then suddenly it ___________ (start) to rain.
14. My brother ___________ (talk) on the phone when I arrived, but when he
___________ (see) me, he ___________ (finish) the call. Perhaps he thought that I
___________ (listen) to his conversation.
15. We ___________ (climb) the wall when the gardener ___________ (see) us.
16. Susan ___________ (play) the piano while Mary ___________ (sing)
17. ___________ (you/ listen) to the teacher when she ___________ (explain) this
exercise?
18. Linda ___________ (have) a beautiful dream when the alarm clock ___________
(ring).
Exercise 2: Read the letter and write the missing words. Write one word on each line
Dear Georgia,
I’m writing to you from my hotel room (1) ______ New York. You can’t imagine what
happened to me yesterday! I was walking in Mitte at around noon (2) _______ it started
raining. (3) ______ I was running back to the hotel, I saw a famous actor who was
eating in a restaurant. I went in and (4) ______ hello and he gave me two tickets to see
his new film. Isn’t that great?
That’s all for now. See you (5) ______ I get back!
Love,
Rachel
Exercise 3: Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the past continuous
1. A: How (1) _______________ (Anne/ break) her leg?
B: She (2) ______________ (ride) her horse when she (3) _______________ (fall) and
(4) __________ (land) on her leg.
A: (5) ________________ (she/go) to hospital?
2. A: When (1) ___________ (you/see) Peter?
B: While I (2) ___________ (do) my shopping at the supermarket
3. A: I (1) __________ (call) you last night but you (2) _____________ (not/ answer).
Where were you?
B: I (3) __________________ (jog) in the park
Exercise 4: Give the correct forms of the verbs given in the brackets
1. Susan ___________ (study) in her room when she heard the noise.
2. What ____________ (they, do) at eleven p.m. last night - it was so noisy?
3. I was eight years old when my elder sister __________ (teach) me how to ride a bike.
4. John ______________ (not go) to school last week because he was ill.
5. I didn't know anything about the plane crash in my neighborhood because I
________ (work) inside at that time.
6. Yesterday at 9.30 p.m my parents ______________ (sit) in the garden
______________ (drink) some Coke.
7. The chambermaid ______________ (make) my bed in the hotel and
______________ (clean) the bathroom.
8. Someone ______________ (knock) on the door while ______________ (read) the
newspaper.
9. My brother ______________ (buy) a lot of books when he ______________ (live) in
Cambridge.
10. William ______________ (not meet) Sally at the airport last Sunday.
11. Jerry ______________ (have) dinner when the lights ______________ (go) out.
12. The girl ______________ (feel) ill so she ______________ (not go) to work.
13. I ______________ (make) a pudding when the light ______________ (go) out.
14. We suddenly ______________ (realize) that we ______________ (travel) in the
wrong direction.
15. While I ______________ (swim) someone ______________ (steal) my clothes and
I ______________ (have to) walk to the hotel in my swimsuit.
16. The floor ______________ (be) covered with balls of wool. Obviously Grandmother
______________ (knit) something.
17. I ______________ (find) this coin as I ______________ (dig) in the garden. It looks
very old.
18. When I first ______________ (meet) him, he ______________ (work) in a cafe.
19. When I ______________ (read) a book, I ______________ (hear) a knock, I
______________ (go) to the door and ______________ (open) it, but I
______________ (not recognize) my friend at first because I ______________ (not
wear) my glasses.
20. When I ______________ (come) in they ______________ (sit) round the fire.
Exercise 5: Supply the correct tenses of the verbs in brackets
One afternoon, a big wolf (wait) ____________ in a dark forest for a little girl to come
along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. Finally a little girl did come along
and she (carry) ____________ a basket of food. 'Are you carrying that basket to your
grandmother?' asked the wolf. The little girl said yes, she (be)____________. So the
wolf (ask) ____________her where her grandmother lived and the little girl
(tell)____________ him and he (disappear)____________ into the wood.
When the little girl (open) ____________ the door of her grandmother's house, she
(see)____________ that there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and nightgown on.
She (approach)____________ no nearer than twenty-five feet from the bed when she
(see)____________ that it was not her grandmother but the wolf , for even in a nightcap
a wolf does not look like anybody's grandmother. So the little girl (take) ____________
an automatic pistol out of her basket and (shoot) ____________the wolf dead.
Exercise 6: Complete this email with either the past simple or the past continuous form of
the verbs in brackets. Where alternatives are possible, think about any difference in
meaning.
I (1. buy) ____________ a new alarm clock the other day in Taylor’s the jewellers, when
I actually (2. see) ____________ somebody shoplifting. I’d finished paying for my clock
and as I (3. turn) ____________ round, an elderly woman (4. slowly put) ____________
a silver plate into a bag that she (5. carry) ____________. Then she (6. walk)
____________ over to another part of the shop and (7. pick up) ____________ an
expensive-looking watch a number of times. When she (8. think) ____________ that
nobody (9. look) ____________, she (10. drop) ____________ it into the bag. Before I
(11. have) ____________ a chance to tell the staff in the shop, she (12. notice)
____________ that I (13. watch) ____________ her and (14. hurry)____________ out.
Unfortunately for her, two police officers (15. walk) ____________ past just at that
moment and she (16. run) ____________ straight into them.
Exerccise 7: Complete the sentences using these pairs of verbs. Use the past simple in one
gap and the past continuous in the other.
come - show get - go hope - give live - spend
look - see play - break start - check in
1. Just as I was getting into the bath all the lights went off.
2. I……………………..to go away this weekend, but my boss…………………..me some
work that I have to finish by Monday.
3. When I………………………..in Paris, I……………………three hours a day travelling
to and from work.
4. A friendly American couple…………………..chatting to him as he…………………at
the hotel reception.
5. I bumped into Lena last week. She……………………….a lot better than when I
last…………………..her.
6. My boss…………………………..into the office just as I…………………………
everyone my holiday photos.
7. I…………….badminton four times a week before I……………………..my ankle.
Exercise 8: Complete the gaps in Past Simple or Past Continuous
1. We ______________ to the cinema yesterday. (to go)
2. I ______________ my homework for the whole evening yesterday. (to do)
3. Emily ______________ the piano at 4 p.m yesterday. (to play)
4. When John came home, his little brother ______________ TV. (to watch)
5. They ______________ a new house last month. (to buy)
6. We ______________ our relatives in the USA two years ago. (to visit)
7. As Sophie ______________ (walk) up Regent Street, she ______________ (meet)
an old friend from college.
8. Who ______________ (you/ speak) to on the phone when I ______________ (come)
in?
9. Mary ______________ (read) in bed when she ______________ (hear) a strange
noise downstairs.
10. The fireman ______________ (rescue) a 75-year-old woman who ______________
(be) trapped on the second floor of the burning building.
11. When I ______________ (open) the door, two people ______________ (stand)
there.
12. Your package ______________ (arrive) while we ______________ (have) dinner.
13. Gran ______________ (do) really well when I ______________ (see) her
yesterday.
14. The teacher ______________ (ask) me a question while I ______________ (look)
out of the window
15. We ______________ (not drive) very fast when the police officer ______________
(stop) us.
