PAST SIMPLE AND PAST CONTINUOUS

- practice -

I. Put the verb in the brackets in the correct past form, simple or continuous:

1. Last year, I _____________ (go) to Greece for my holidays.

2. I __________________ (decide) to fly because it is much quicker than going overland.
3. On the morning I left London, it _______________ (rain), but when I ________________ (step) off the
plane in Greece, it was a beautiful day. The sun ________________ (shine), and a cool wind
______________ (blow) from the sea.
4. I _____________________ (take) a taxi to my hotel. As I _______________ (sign) the register, someone
__________________ (tap) me on the shoulder. I ______________ (turn) round. It was a friend I hadn’t
seen for ten years. He _____________ (stay) at the same hotel.
5. That evening, we _____________________ (go) for a walk. The town was still very busy. Street traders
__________________ (sell) souvenirs, and the foreign tourists __________________ (try) to bring down
the price with the aid of a Greek phrase book. We _________________ (listen) to their chat for a while,
then returned to our hotel.

II. Write an appropriate question for these answers.

1. A: _______________________________
B: I was 6 years old.
2. A: __________________________________
B: I went to two schools.
3. A: ___________________________________
B: The first was a junior school, the second was a grammar school.
4. A:____________________________________
B: No, I didn’t. I really hated them. I was very unhappy at school.
5. A: _________________________________
B: I took ‘O’ levels when I was 15, and ‘A’ levels when I was 17.
6. A: __________________________________
B: Yes, I did. I went to Oxford University.
7. A: _______________________________
B: Modern languages: French and German.
8. A: ________________________________
B: I was there for 4 years.

IV. Supply the correct tense and aspect of the verbs in the brackets:
1. He still (sleep) __________ when you (enter) ____________ his room?
2. What you (do) ____________ when she (arrive) at your house?
3. It (rain) ____________ when you (look) ________________ out of the window?
4. It (not rain) ______________ when we (come) _____________ out of our house.
5. He (cut) __________ his finger while he (cut) ____________ bread?
6. Light (go out) ______________ while you (brush) __________ your teeth?
7. The light (not go out) ____________ while I (wash) ______________ my face.
8. He still (sleep) ____________ when I (enter) _____________ his bedroom.
9. You (read) ________________ when the telephone (ring) __________.
10. What you (do) ____________ when the telephone (ring) ____________?

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 V. Complete the passage putting the verbs in brackets into the Past Simple.
My trip to the United States (start) _________________ badly for me. I (have) _____________ a lot to do,
so I (get) _________________ up very early. First I (go) ______________ to the travel agent’s to collect my
ticket. Then, I (take) _____________ my two goldfish to my neighbor’s house and (leave) ___________ them
there for the week.
Suddenly, I (remember) ___________________ my library books, and I (run) ___________ to the library
and (give) ________________ them back. On the way back from the library, I (stop) ____________ at the
shops and (buy) ________ some sunglasses and films for my camera.
I (come) ______________ home, (eat) ______________ a sandwich and (make) _________ myself some
coffee. Finally, I (pack) _________________ my bags, (walk) _______________ out of the door and (catch)
_______________ the bus to the airport. At the airport, I (find) ______________ the right check-in and (show)
_______________ the man my ticket. He (shake) ________________ his head and (say) ______________:
„I’m afraid you’re a day early. This ticket is for July 12th. It’s July 11th today. ”

VI. Write questions and answers in the Past Simple.

1.Q: Why you (miss) the bus? _____________________________________________?
A: Because I (not hear) my alarm clock. ____________________________________.
2.Q: you (find) your swimming costume? ____________________________________?
A: No, so I (not go) swimming. ___________________________________________.
3. Q: How long the journey (take)? __________________________________________?
A: It (not take) very long. About an hour. ____________________________________.
4. Q: What they (do) in Amsterdam? _________________________________________?
A: They (not go) in the end. They (miss) the plane. ______________________________________________.
5.Q: Where she (buy) her purple jeans? __________________________________?
A: She (not buy) them. I (give) them to her. ___________________________________.
6.Q: your sister (lose) her passport? _________________________________________?
A: No, she (not lose) her passport. She (lose) her plane ticket. ________________________________________.

VII. Ask questions for the underlined words:

1. The Prime Minister entered the room at 9 o’clock.
2. I found these cheap shoes in a little shop in Chelsea.
3. We heard an explosion.
4. They chose 25 girls for the beauty contest.
5. We traveled on foot.
6. She sent postcards to her friends in South America.
7. We generally slept only 5 hours a day during the war.
8. She didn’t come to the party because she was ill.

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 9. I went to the disco with my girlfriend.
10. She taught English to African students.
11. This T-shirt cost $4.50.
12. He drove at 100mph.
13. Mother said „No!”
14. Sam bought these trousers on the market.
15. Sergeant Bade stood near the general.
16. The black hen laid 6 eggs yesterday.
17. My brother showed me this kick.
18. I first met my wife 10 years ago.
19. I liked his second novel best.
20. We lost our way because it was dark.

VIII. Complete the missing part of the following sentences using the word given to you in brackets and a
suitable verb:
1. I ____________________________________________when the telephone rang. (newspaper)
2. Martha ______________________________________when the gas stove exploded. (dinner)
3. Granny _____________________________________________________while the kitten was playing with yarn.
(sweater)
4. The boys _____________________________________________when it started to rain. (kite)
5. The nurse _______________________________________________when the needle broke. (injection)
6. Philip ____________________________________________________when he swallowed some toothpaste.
(teeth)
7. They __________________________________________________when a wolf attacked them. (mushrooms)
8. The mountaineer __________________________________________________when the rope snapped. (Mount
Everest)
9. The robbers ______________________________________________when the alarm went off (safe)
10. We ______________________________________________when the war began. (Paris)
11. Professor Ward ___________________________________________when the students’ riot began. (lecture)
12. The lumbermen ___________________________________________when the accident happened. (tree)
13. Nigel ________________________________________when he started to cough. (cigar)
14. Michael Jackson ______________________________while his fans were trying to climb the fence. (“Bad”)
15. Sheila _________________________________when she pricked her finger. (roses)
16. The surgeon _____________________________________when the patient woke up. (operation)