Scribd
Upload
152 views1 page

PAST SIMPLE Past Continuous

The document provides examples to practice using the past simple and past continuous tenses in sentences. It includes fill-in-the-blank exercises and a longer text to complete with the appropriate verb tenses. The exercises focus on describing simultaneous or sequential past actions to distinguish between using the simple past and past continuous.

Uploaded by

Maria Jesus Vazquez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
152 views1 page

PAST SIMPLE Past Continuous

The document provides examples to practice using the past simple and past continuous tenses in sentences. It includes fill-in-the-blank exercises and a longer text to complete with the appropriate verb tenses. The exercises focus on describing simultaneous or sequential past actions to distinguish between using the simple past and past continuous.

Uploaded by

Maria Jesus Vazquez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

PAST SIMPLE / PAST CONTINUOUS

EXERCISES

1. Complete the sentences with the right form of past simple or the past continuous
1. A: What _______________________ (you, do) when the accident occurred?
B: I ____________________ (try) to change a light bulb that had burnt out.
2. After I ________________ (find) the wallet full of money, I ____________________ (go,
immediately) to the police and ______________ (turn) it in.
3. The doctor ____________________(say) that Tom _________________ (be) too sick to go
to work and that he _____________________ (need) to stay at home for a couple of days.
4. Sebastian ____________________ (arrive) at Susan's house a little before 9:00 PM, but she
__________________ (be, not) there. She _______________________ (study, at the library)
for her final exam.
5. Sandy is in the living room watching television. At this time yesterday, she _______________
___________(watch, also) television. That's all she ever does!
6. A: I _____________________ (call) you last night after dinner, but you _________________
(be, not) there. Where were you?
B: I________________________(work) out at the fitness centre.
7. When I ______________________ (walk) into the busy office, the secretary _____________
____________ (talk) on the phone with a customer, several clerks _______________________
(work, busily) at their desks, and two managers ________________________ (discuss,
quietly) methods to improve customer service.
8. I _________________________ (watch) a mystery movie on TV when the electricity ______
____________ (go) out. Now I am never going to find out how the movie ends.
9. Sharon ____________________ (be) in the room when John told me what happened, but
she didn't hear anything because she _____________________ (listen, not) .
10. It's strange that you _________________ (call) because I _____________________ (think,
just) about you.
11. The Titanic _________________________ (cross) the Atlantic when it ________________
___________ (strike) an iceberg.
12. When I entered the bazaar, a couple of merchants _________________________ (bargain,
busily) and _____________________ (try) to sell their goods to naive tourists who __________
________________ (hunt) for souvenirs. Some young boys _____________________ (lead)
their donkeys through the narrow streets on their way home. A couple of men ______________
____ (argue) over the price of a leather belt. I ____________________(walk) over to a man
who _________________ (sell) fruit and ______________________ (buy) a banana.
13. The firemen __________________________ (rescue) the old woman who _____________
______________ (be) trapped on the third floor of the burning building.
14. She was so annoying! She _______________________ (leave, always) her dirty dishes in
the sink. I think she ______________________ (expect, actually) me to do them for her.
15. Samantha _______________________ (live) in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she
(live) ___________________ there when the Berlin Wall came down.

2. Now complete the text with the past simple/continuous


Last night, while I was doing my homework, Angela __________________ (call). She said she
___________________(call) me on her cell phone from her biology classroom at UCLA. I asked
her if she _________________ (wait) for the class, but she said that the professor was in front
of her speaking while she ___________________ (talk) to me. I couldn't believe she ________
____________ (make) a phone call during the class. I asked what was going on.
She said her biology professor was so boring that several of the students _________________
_________ (sleep, actually) in class. Some of the students ________________________ (talk)
about their plans for the weekend and the student next to her ______________________(draw)
a picture of a horse. When Angela _____________________ (tell) me she was not satisfied
with the class, I _____________________(mention) that my biology professor was quite good
and ___________________________ (suggest) that she switch to my class.
While we were talking, I _______________________(hear) her professor yell, "Miss, are you
making a phone call?" Suddenly, the line went dead. I ________________________(hang) up
the phone and went to the kitchen to make dinner. As I ____________________________ (cut)
vegetables for a salad, the phone rang once again. It _________________________ (be)
Angela, but this time she wasn't sitting in class.

You might also like