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Past continuous vs past simple_exercises

Past continuous vs past simple_exercises

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Liliana Bajdechi
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35 views

Past continuous vs past simple_exercises

Past continuous vs past simple_exercises

Uploaded by

Liliana Bajdechi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Past continuous vs past simple

1. Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).


2. When I phoned my friends, they (play) monopoly.
3. Yesterday at six I (prepare) dinner.
4. The kids (play)in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.
5. I (practice)the guitar when he came home.
6. We (not / cycle)all day.
7. While Alan (work) in his room, his friends (swim)in the pool.
8. I tried to tell them the truth but they (not /listen) .
9. What (you / do)yesterday?
10. Most of the time we (sit)in the park.
11. I (listen)to the radio while my sister (watch) TV.
12. When I arrived, They (play) cards.
13. We (study) English yesterday at 4:00 pm .
14. I (make) my dinner at 8 o’clock last night.
15. Joe and Sam (use) the wrong program in IT yesterday.
16. Who was that guy you (dance) with at the party?
17. Paula (come) home from school when she saw an accident.
18. In 1999 my father (live) in Dublin. That’s where he met my mother.
19. He (open) the box when he cut his finger.
20. This time last week, we (visit) my grandmother.
21. I (sit) at the back of the classroom so I couldn’t see the screen.
22. Andrew (insert) a photo into his document when the teacher stopped the class.
23. I (start) to do my homework when my friend sent me a message.

2. Underline the correct options.


1. I listened / was listening to the radio when I heard / was hearing this fantastic song.
2. When the teacher said / was saying ‘Stop!’, I still tried / was still trying to finish the last question.
3. I feel really silly! While I danced / was dancing, I fell / was falling and broke / was breaking my elbow.
4. Tim played / was playing a computer game when his mum called / was calling him for lunch.
5. I looked / was looking for a file on my memory stick when I noticed / was noticing there was a virus.
6. Ron found/was finding a really interesting website about dance music while he surfed / was surfing the internet.
7. My mum had / was having breakfast near the computer when she spilled/was spilling her cup of coffee on the
keyboard.
8. When you saw / were seeing me yesterday, I didn’t go / wasn’t going to school, I went / was going to the doctor’s – I felt
terrible.
9. How many pictures did you take / were you taking while you travelled / were travelling around Ireland?
10. Why did you chat / were you chatting to Philip while I tried / was trying to tell you something really important?

3. Complete the sentences with the past simple or the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets.
1 I (switch off) the computer because it (make) a strange noise.
2 My dad (listen) to classical music when I (arrive) home from school.
3 We (play) video games when my mum,(say) ‘Turn the volume down!’
4 My cousin (meet) his wife, Bianca, while he (live) in Italy.
5 My little sister (draw) a picture while I (study) for my French exam.
6 While they (try) to fix the computer, all the lights (go out).
7 When we (leave) school yesterday, it (pour) with rain.
8 When you (see) Paul, he (wear) a black jacket?
9 I (try) to log on when the WiFi (stop) working.
10 While Dad (print) an article, the printer (run out) of paper.
4.a Choose the past simple or past continuous.
1. What ____________________________ (you / do) when I ________________________ (call) you last night?
2. I _________________ (sit) in a café when you ________________________ (call).
3. When you ___________________ (arrive) at the party, who ___________________ (be) there?
4. Susie _____________ (watch) a film when she _____________________ (hear) the noise.
5. Yesterday I _________ (go) to the library, next I _____________ (have) a swim, later I __________ (meet) Julie for a
coffee.
6. We _______________ (play) tennis when John ___________ (hurt) his ankle.
7. What __________ (they / do) at 10pm last night? It __________________ (be) really noisy.
8. He ___________________ (take) a shower when the telephone _________________ (ring).
9. He ____________________ (be) in the shower when the telephone __________________ (ring).
10. When I __________________ (walk) into the room, everyone ________________________ (work).
11. It ________________________ (be) a day last September. The sun ________________________ (shine), the birds
_____________ (sing). I _____________ (walk) along the street when I ___________ (meet) an old friend.
12. He ______________ (live) in Russia when the Revolution _____________________ (start).
13. When her train ___________________ (get) to the station, we ________________ (wait) on the platform.
14. He _____________ (be) so annoying! He ____________ (always / leave) his things everywhere.
15. On holiday we ________________________ (visit) Rome, ________________________ (see) the Vatican, and
________________________ (spend) a few days at the beach.
16. Why _____________________ (you / stand) on a chair when I ____________ (come) into the room?
17. They _________________ (live) in Germany when they ____________________ (be) young.
18. At 7pm yesterday, we ________________________ (listen) to music.
19. When I ________________________ (leave) the house, it ________________________ (snow).
20. He ________________________ (work) in a bank when he _____________ (meet) his wife.
21.We ............................... (watch) a film when the electricity ............................... (go) off.
22. They ................................ (have) lunch when their friends ................................ (arrive).
23. The music suddenly ................................ (stop) when we ................................ (dance).
24. Millie ................................ (lose) her credit card when she ................................ (shop).
25. The wind ................................ (blow) and ship ...................... (cannot) reach the port.
26. We .............................. (have) breakfast when we .............................. (hear) the news on the radio.
27. Tanya .............................. (see) us when she .............................. (wait) at the bus stop.
28. Tom ................................ (look) for his sunglasses when he ................................ (find) his wallet.
29. It ................................ (snow) and the car suddenly ................................ (stop)

b.Answer the following questions. Ask and answer with your partner if possible.
1. Describe what you and other family members were doing at 9 o’clock last night.
2. Describe your last vacation. Tell us what you and other people were doing there.

5.a Complete the story with the correct past tense form of the verbs in brackets.
Sometimes I hate computers! Once, when I 1_____________ (try) to do my English homework on my laptop, the battery
2 _____________ (run out). I 3_____________ (lie) on my bed and I was listening to music on Spotify. It helps me to
concentrate. I 4_____________ also (chat) to my friend Daniel on Facebook. I was just finishing the essay when the
screen 7_____________ (go) black. I 8_____________ (lose) everything. I 9_____________ (scream) in frustration.
My dad 10 (come) _____________ running into my bedroom. I 11 _____________ almost (cry) so he 12
_____________ (give) me his laptop. I 13_____________ (try) to remember everything in my essay – it 14
_____________ (be) quite difficult especially because Daniel was sending me lots of funny videos. Anyway, while I was
watching one, the WiFi stopped working. In the end it was probably better because I 15_____________ (manage) to
finish the essay.

b. Past simple or Past continuous


It was a fine day when I started out on the last part of my walk around the coast of Britain. The sun was (1)
………………………..(shine), and a light wind (2)………………….… (blow) from the southwest. I was pleased that it
(3)………………… raining. I knew by now that I (4) …………………… (not/like) rain. In fact I (5)………..……(hate)
it. I (6)…………………(walk) along the cliff top and then down into the lovely little fishing village of Wellburn, past a
cafe where people (7)…………………………….. having morning coffee. Three miles past Wellburn I (8)………………
(sit) down for five minutes and (9)……………… (have) a drink. Now it (10)…………… (get) warmer, so I (11)
…………… (take) off one of my sweaters. I (12)………………… (not/stop) for long because I (13)……………… (have)
to reach Seabury by lunch-time. (14) When I finally …………………….. (get) there, it (15)……………….. (be) just
after half past twelve.

6 . Complete the sentences with when or while.


1. …………..the governor was giving a speech, the plane crashed just outside the building.
2. ………... we arrived, everyone was waiting for us.
3. Jack left ………… all his friend were having fun last night.
4. What were you doing …. she came home?
5. The teacher was invigilating the students ………… they were doing the test.
6. ………….. my mother was reading a story, my little brother fell asleep.
7. I was dancing with my high school mate ………..…. my wife suddenly turned up.
8. All people in our village were staying home ……………… the police was patrolling around.
9. ………………. it was snowing in Stockholm, the sun was shining in Sydney.
10. ………….…. the boy left her alone, what happened to his girlfriend?

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