Past Tenses-Exercises

1. Expanded Fill in the Blanks

Simple Past Tense
1. She _____ (bake) a cake for her friend’s birthday.
2. They _____ (see) the new movie last night.
3. He _____ (send) an email to his professor.
4. We _____ (travel) to Spain last summer.
5. The teacher _____ (give) us extra homework yesterday.
6. I _____ (forget) my keys at home this morning.
7. They _____ (finish) the project ahead of schedule.
8. She _____ (lose) her wallet at the mall.
9. The company _____ (launch) a new product last year.
10. He _____ (meet) his friend for coffee yesterday.
Past Continuous Tense
1. I _____ (watch) TV when the lights went out.
2. They _____ (work) on the report when the boss called.
3. She _____ (take) a shower when the phone rang.
4. We _____ (drive) to the airport when we heard the news.
5. The kids _____ (play) outside when it started to rain.
6. He _____ (study) for the exam all night.
7. She _____ (cook) dinner when the guests arrived.
8. They _____ (decorate) the house when I arrived.
9. He _____ (fix) the car when it started to snow.
10. The students _____ (discuss) the project when the bell rang.
Past Perfect Tense
1. By the time I got to the station, the train _____ (leave).
 2. She _____ (complete) her assignment before the deadline.
3. They _____ (not/finish) the work before the meeting started.
4. He _____ (never/visit) that country before.
5. We _____ (already/eat) dinner by the time she arrived.
6. The movie _____ (start) by the time we reached the theater.
7. She _____ (read) the book before watching the movie.
8. They _____ (plan) everything before the event.
9. He _____ (save) enough money before buying the car.
10. I _____ (never/meet) her before the party.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
1. She _____ (wait) for an hour when the bus finally arrived.
2. They _____ (live) in the city for ten years before moving.
3. He _____ (work) at the company for two years before he was
promoted.
4. She _____ (study) all night before the exam.
5. They _____ (build) the house for several months before it was
completed.
6. I _____ (try) to reach him all day when he finally called.
7. He _____ (train) for the marathon for months before the event.
8. She _____ (cook) for hours when the guests arrived.
9. They _____ (discuss) the issue for days before reaching a decision.
10. He _____ (repair) the car for two hours when he found the
problem.
2. Sentence Formation
Instructions: Create sentences using the following prompts.
1. Simple Past: [visit / grandparents / last weekend]
2. Simple Past: [finish / homework / before dinner]
 3. Past Continuous: [rain / walk / home]
4. Past Continuous: [talk / friend / doorbell rang]
5. Past Perfect: [arrive / airport / flight / already leave]
6. Past Perfect: [complete / project / before deadline]
7. Past Perfect Continuous: [study / hours / exam / start]
8. Past Perfect Continuous: [wait / bus / one hour]
9. Simple Past: [attend / wedding / last month]
10. Past Continuous: [watch / TV / mother / call]
3. Transformation Exercises
Instructions: Transform the following sentences into the correct past tense
form.
1. They leave the house at 8 AM. (Simple Past)
2. She is reading a book when the phone rings. (Past Continuous)
3. We have eaten before you arrived. (Past Perfect)
4. He has been working on the project for a week when he finished it.
(Past Perfect Continuous)
5. She sees a movie last night. (Simple Past)
6. He finishes his homework before the teacher arrived. (Past Perfect)
7. I am writing a letter when she knocked on the door. (Past Continuous)
8. They have never visited that museum before last summer. (Past
Perfect)
9. She cooks dinner when the power went out. (Past Continuous)
10. We play football when it started to rain. (Past Continuous)
4. Story Completion
Instructions: Complete the story using the appropriate past tense form.
It was a beautiful sunny morning. Sarah ______ (wake) up early and ______
(decide) to go for a walk. As she ______ (walk) through the park, she ______
(notice) a man sitting on a bench, reading a book. She ______ (realize) that
she ______ (see) him before but couldn't remember where. After a while,
she ______ (continue) her walk and ______ (think) about her day. By the time
she ______ (get) home, she ______ (forget) all about the man.
5. Discussion Prompts
Use these questions to stimulate discussion, ensuring your students
practice forming sentences in the past tenses.
1. What did you do during your last vacation? (Simple Past)
2. What were you doing when you heard about a major news event?
(Past Continuous)
3. Had you ever tried any new hobbies before last year? (Past Perfect)
4. How long had you been working before you got your current job? (Past
Perfect Continuous)
5. Can you describe a memorable event from your childhood? (Simple
Past)
6. What were you doing last weekend at this time? (Past Continuous)
7. Had you ever met someone famous before you met [name]? (Past
Perfect)
8. How long had you been living in your old house before you moved?
(Past Perfect Continuous)
9. What was the last movie you watched? (Simple Past)
10. What were you doing when you received good news recently?
(Past Continuous)
6. Error Correction
Instructions: Identify and correct the errors in the following sentences.
1. She was sleep when I called her.
2. They had went to the store before it closed.
3. He didn’t knew the answer.
4. We was watching a movie when the power went out.
5. They had been live in that city for five years before they moved.
 6. She had finish her work by the time I arrived.
7. I didn’t saw him at the party last night.
8. He were playing football when it started raining.
9. We was talking when the teacher entered the class.
10. She has been wait for an hour when the bus finally arrived.
7. Matching Exercise
Instructions: Match the sentences on the left with the correct past tense
form on the right.

Sentence Tense

She studied all night for the exam. Simple Past

They were cooking when the phone

Past Continuous
rang.

He had completed the task before

Past Perfect
the deadline.

We had been discussing the project

Past Perfect Continuous
for hours.

I went to the store yesterday. Simple Past

She was reading when the lights went

Past Continuous
out.

They had never traveled abroad

Past Perfect
before.

He had been waiting for a long time. Past Perfect Continuous

We watched a movie last weekend. Simple Past

She was sleeping when I arrived. Past Continuous

8. Real-life Scenarios
Instructions: Describe what you were doing in the following situations
using the past continuous or past perfect continuous tenses.
1. What were you doing when you heard about a major world event?
2. Describe a time when you had been preparing for an important event
for a long time.
3. What were you doing when you received an unexpected visitor?
4. Describe a situation where you had been working on something
challenging before it was finally completed.
5. What were you doing when you first met your best friend?
6. Describe a time when you had been planning a surprise for someone.
7. What were you doing during a power outage?
8. Describe a moment when you had been saving money for a special
purchase.
9. What were you doing when you heard some surprising news?
10. Describe a time when you had been looking forward to a trip or
vacation.