Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the past simple or the past continuous form the

verbs.
1. Peter ______ was playing_____ (play) a video game when his brother, Jack,
__entered_________ (enter) the room.
2. I _____was studying______ (study) for my English test when my mother
___came________ (come) home from work.
3. Emma ___was washing________ (wash) the dishes when the telephone
__rang_________ (ring).
4. I __was eating _________ (ate) a sandwich while my parents _were
drinking__________ (drink) coffee.
5. I ______was watching_____ (watch) a DVD when my cat ____jumped_______
(jump) on me.
6. I ____didn’t hear_______ (not hear) the thunder during the storm last night because I
___was sleeping ________ (sleep)
7. It (be) _was__________ beautiful yesterday when we ___went________ (go) for a
walk in the park. The sun ____was shining _______ (shine). The birds ___was singing
________ (sing).
8. My brother and sister ___were talking________ (talk) about something when I
____walked_______ (walk) into the room.
9. Tom ___went________(go) to his friend’s house, but the boys ___weren’t________
(not be) there. They ____were playing_______ (play) soccer in the vacant lot down the
street.
10. The little boy ______fell_____ (fall) asleep while his mother _____was
reading______ (read) him a story.
11. I really ____enjoyed_______ (enjoy) my holiday last January. While it ____ was
snowing_______ (snow) in Iowa, the sun ___was shining________ (shine) in Floria.
12. It ____was snowing_______ (snow) when I ___left________ (leave) home this
morning.
13. It was a sunny afternoon and people __were sitting_________ (sit) on the grass in
the park. Then suddenly it _started__________ (start) to rain.
14. My brother ____was talking_______ (talk) on the phone when I arrived, but when he
___saw________ (see) me, he ___finished________ (finish) the call. Perhaps he
thought that I ___listened________ (listen) to his conversation.
15. We ____were climbing_______ (climb) the wall when the gardener
____saw_______ (see) us.
16. Susan ___was playing ________ (play) the piano while Mary ____was
singing_______ (sing)
17. ____were-listening_______ (you/ listen) to the teacher when she
__explained________ (explain) this exercise?
18. Linda __was having_________ (have) a beautiful dream when the alarm clock
___rang________ (ring).
Exercise 2: Choose the correct answer
1. The Smiths aren’t painting/ weren’t painting their house last weekend
2. Tom cleaned/ was cleaning the living room when Jane arrived
3. Did/ Were the students writing an essay in class this morning?
4. Frank was fixing/ fixed his car when his mobile rang
5. Mark didn’t wear/ wasn’t wearing a coat when it started to rain.
6. He is/ was driving to work this morning when Anna called.
7. While my parents were working/ was working, I was studying at home
8. I walked/ was walking home when I tripped/ was tripping and fell
9. At 8 o’clock last night, we were having/ had dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
Exercise 3: 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) __in____ New York. You can’t imagine what
happened to me yesterday! I was walking in Mitte at around noon (2) ___when ____ it
started raining. (3) _when_____ I was running back to the hotel, I saw a famous actor
who was eating in a restaurant. I went in and (4) _said_____ hello and he gave me two
tickets to see his new film. Isn’t that great?
That’s all for now. See you (5) _when _____ I get back!
Love,
Rachel
Exercise 4: Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the past continuous
1. A: How (1) _did Anne break______________ (Anne/ break) her leg?
B: She (2) __was riding____________ (ride) her horse when she (3)
___fell____________ (fall) and (4) ___landed_______ (land) on her leg.
A: (5) _____did she go___________ (she/go) to hospital?
2. A: When (1) ___did you see________ (you/see) Peter?
B: While I (2) ___was doing________ (do) my shopping at the supermarket
3. A: I (1) __called_______ (call) you last night but you (2) ____didn’t
answer_________ (not/ answer). Where were you?
B: I (3) ____jogged______________ (jog) in the park last night.
Exercise 5: Give the correct forms of the verbs given in the brackets
1. Susan ____was studying_______ (study) in her room when she heard the noise.
2. What ___were they doing_________ (they, do) at eleven p.m. last night - it was so
noisy?
3. I was eight years old when my elder sister __taught________ (teach) me how to ride
a bike.
4. John _____didn’t go_________ (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 ___was
working_____ (work) inside at that time.
6. Yesterday at 9.30 p.m my parents __were sitting____________ (sit) in the garden
__drinking____________ (drink) some Coke.
7. The chambermaid _____made_________ (make) my bed in the hotel and
_______cleaned_______ (clean) the bathroom.
8. Someone ____knocked__________ (knock) on the door while I__was
reading____________ (read) the newspaper.
9. My brother ______was buying________ (buy) a lot of books when he
____lived__________ (live) in Cambridge.
10. William ___didn’t meet___________ (not meet) Sally at the airport last Sunday.
11. Jerry ______was having________ (have) dinner when the lights
_____went_________ (go) out.
12. The girl ____felt__________ (feel) ill so she _______didn’t go_______ (not go) to
work.
13. I ______was making________ (make) a pudding when the light
___went___________ (go) out.
14. We suddenly ______realized________ (realize) that we ____were
traveling__________ (travel) in the wrong direction.
15. While I _____was swimming_________ (swim) someone ______stole________
(steal) my clothes and I ____had to__________ (have to) walk to the hotel in my
swimsuit.
16. The floor ______was________ (be) covered with balls of wool. Obviously
Grandmother ______was knitting________ (knit) something.
17. I _____found_________ (find) this coin as I ___was digging___________ (dig) in
the garden. It looks very old.
18. When I first _____met_________ (meet) him, he ____was working__________
(work) in a cafe.
19. When I ___was reading ___________ (read) a book, I _____ heard_________
(hear) a knock, I ______went________ (go) to the door and ____opened__________
(open) it, but I ___didn’t recognize___________ (not recognize) my friend at first
because I _____wasn’t wearing_________ (not wear) my glasses.
20. When I _______came_______ (come) in they ______were sitting________ (sit)
round the fire.
Exercise 6: Supply the correct tenses of the verbs in brackets
One afternoon, a big wolf (wait) __was waiting__________ 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) _____carried _______ a basket of food. 'Are you carrying that
basket to your grandmother?' asked the wolf. The little girl said yes, she
(be)______was______. So the wolf (ask) ___asked_________her where her
grandmother lived and the little girl (tell)___told_________ him and he
(disappear)__disappeared__________ into the wood.
When the little girl (open) __opened__________ the door of her grandmother's house,
she (see)___saw_________ that there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and
nightgown on. She (approach)___was approaching_________ no nearer than twenty-
five feet from the bed when she (see)_____saw_______ 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) ____took________ an automatic pistol out of her
basket and (shoot) ___shooted_________the wolf dead.
Exercise 7: 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) _____bought_______ a new alarm clock the other day in Taylor’s the
jewellers, when I actually (2. see) _____saw_______ somebody shoplifting. I’d finished
paying for my clock and as I (3. turn) ___turned_________ round, an elderly woman (4.
slowly put) ____slowly put________ a silver plate into a bag that she (5. carry)
_____was carrying_______. Then she (6. walk) ____walked ________ over to another
part of the shop and (7. pick up) ___picked up_________ an expensive-looking watch a
number of times. When she (8. think) ____thought________ that nobody (9. look)
_____was looking_______, she (10. drop) ___dropped_________ it into the bag.
Before I (11. have) ____had________ a chance to tell the staff in the shop, she (12.
notice) ____had noticed________ that I (13. watch) ______was watching______ her
and (14. hurry)__hurried__________ out. Unfortunately for her, two police officers (15.
walk) _____were walking_______ past just at that moment and she (16. run)
_____ran_______ straight into them.
Exercise 8: 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………hoped……………..to go away this weekend, but my boss……
gave……………..me some work that I have to finish by Monday.
3. When I………was living………………..in Paris, I……spent ………………three hours a
day travelling to and from work.
4. A friendly American couple………started …………..chatting to him as he……was
checking in……………at the hotel reception.
5. I bumped into Lena last week. She……was looking………………….a lot better than
when I last………saw…………..her.
6. My boss……came……………………..into the office just as I………was
showing…………………everyone my holiday photos.
Exercise 9: Choose the correct alternative “When/ While”
1. I had a bad dream ______while_______ I was sleeping on the sofa
2. I was talking to my husband in the park ______when_______ two cars crashed
behind us.
3. You called me last night ______while_______ I was studying for an important exam.
4. The students were doing an exercise _____when________ the bell rang.
5. Anna was doing her homework ____when_________ the lights went out.
Exericise 10: Circle the correct verb form in each of the following sentences
1. Mary (prepared/ was preparing) lunch when they (came/ was coming)
2. The sun (shone/ was shining) brightly when I (got up/ was getting up) this morning.
3. Ann finally (told/ was telling) us the whole story about Peter
4. We (drove/ were driving) to Berlin in Robert’s new car
5. Last weekend Susan (fell/ was falling) and (broke/ was breaking) her leg
6. Who was that nice girl you (talked/ were talking) to when I (walked/ was walking) by
the pub?
7. When I (entered / was entering) the cafeteria Mary (had / was having) lunch with
Peter.
Exercise 11: Complete the gaps in Past Simple or Past Continuous
1. We _____went_________ to the cinema yesterday. (to go)
2. I ______was doing________ my homework for the whole evening yesterday. (to do)
3. Emily _____was playing_________ the piano at 4 p.m yesterday. (to play)
4. When John came home, his little brother _______was watching_______ TV. (to
watch)
5. They _______bought_______ a new house last month. (to buy)
6. We ______visited________ our relatives in the USA two years ago. (to visit)
7. As Sophie _______was walking_______ (walk) up Regent Street, she
______met________ (meet) an old friend from college.
8. Who ______were you speaking________ (you/ speak) to on the phone when I
_______came_______ (come) in?
9. Mary ______was reading________ (read) in bed when she ______heard________
(hear) a strange noise downstairs.
10. The fireman _____rescued_________ (rescue) a 75-year-old woman who
________was______ (be) trapped on the second floor of the burning building.
11. When I _______opened_______ (open) the door, two people ______were
standing________ (stand) there.
12. Your package _______arrived_______ (arrive) while we ______were
having________ (have) dinner.
13. Gran _____was doing_________ (do) really well when I ______saw________ (see)
her yesterday.
14. The teacher ______asked________ (ask) me a question while I ___was
looking___________ (look) out of the window
15. We _____weren’t driving_________ (not drive) very fast when the police officer
___stopped___________ (stop) us.
16. While I _____was driving_________ (drive), I _____had_________ (have) an
accident.
17. Kate ______had ________ (have) dinner and then she _____did_________ (do)
her homework.
18. The thieves _______were hiding ______ (hide) in the kitchen when the police
______came________ (come) in. thief (so it)
19. Sam ______planned ________ (plan) a party and then he ______phoned________
(phone) his friends.
20. While we _______were cleaning_______ (clean) the house, we
____broke__________ (break) some glasses.
21. Alan _______was looking_______ (look) out of the window when he
______saw________ (see) a UFO.
Exercise 12: Give the correct form of verbs in bracket
1. I (not permit) ______didn’t permit_______ to go out after 10 pm
2. The black dress (make) _____made________ me look older than my mother.
3. This little girl (expect) ______expected_______ by her parents to win the
competition.
4. My manager (not let) ______didn’t let_______me use the computer in the office for
personal purposes.
5. Your hydro bill (pay) ______paid_______ by Mr. Smith yesterday.
6. This building (design) ______designed_______ by a well-known architect in 2001.
7. last year, It ( rumour) ______rumoured_______ that people would build a new bridge
here.
8. The teacher (order) ____ordered_________ me to finish my report before yesterday.
9. his shoes ( often shine) _____often shone________ by his wife.
10. Our way ( light) _____lighted________ by a full moon.