Past Simple & Past Continuous
Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the past simple or the past continuous form the verbs.
1. Peter ___________________ (play) a video game when his brother Jack, _________________ (enter)
the room.
2. I _________________ (study) for my English test when my mother _________________ (come) home
from work.
3. Emma _________________ (wash) the dishes when the telephone _________________ (ring).
4. I _________________ (ate) a sandwich while my parents _________________ (drink) coffee.
5. I _________________ (watch) a DVD when my cat _________________ (jump) on me.
6. I _________________ (not hear) the thunder during the storm last night because I _________________
(sleep)
7. It (be) _________________ beautiful yesterday when we _________________ (go) for a walk in the
park. The sun _________________ (shine). The birds _________________ (sing).
8. My brother and sister _________________ (talk) anout something when I _________________ (walk)
into the room.
9. Tom _________________(go) to his friend's house, but the boys _________________ (not be) there.
They _________________ (play) soccer in the vacant lot down the street.
10. The little boy _________________ (fall) asleep while his mother _________________ (read) him a
story.
11. I really _________________ (enjoy) my holiday last January. While it _________________ (snow) in
Iowa, the sun _________________ (shine) in Floria.
12. It _________________ (snow) when I _________________ (leave) home this morning.
13. It was a sunny afternoon and people _________________ (sit) on the grass in the park. Then suddenly
it _________________ (start) to rain.
14. My brother _________________ (talk) on the phone when I arrived, but when he _________________
(see) me, he _________________ (finish) the call. Perhaps he thought that I _________________ (listen)
to his conversation.
15. We _________________ (climb) the wall when the gardener _________________ (see) us.
16. Susan _________________ (play) the piano while Mary _________________ (sing)
17. _________________ (you/ listen) to the teacher when she _________________ (explain) this exercise?
18. Linda _________________ (have) a beautiful dream when the alarm clock _________________ (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 didn't / 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: Give the correct forms of the verbs given in the brackets
1. Susan ___________ (study) in her room when she heard the noise.
2. What ____________ (they, do) at eleven p.m. last night - it was so noisy?
3. I was eight years old when my elder sister __________ (teach) me how to ride a bike.
4. John ______________ (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 ________ (work) inside at
that time.
6. Yesterday at 9.30 p.m my parents ______________ (sit) in the garden ______________ (drink) some
Coke.
7. The chambermaid ______________ (make) my bed in the hotel and ______________ (clean) the
bathroom.
8. Someone ______________ (knock) on the door while ______________ (read) the newspaper.
9. My brother ______________ (buy) a lot of books when he ______________ (live) in Cambridge.
10. William ______________ (not meet) Sally at the airport last Sunday.
11. Jerry ______________ (have) dinner when the lights ______________ (go) out.
12. The girl ______________ (feel) ill so she ______________ (not go) to work.
13. I ______________ (make) a pudding when the light ______________ (go) out.
14. We suddenly ______________ (realize) that we ______________ (travel) in the wrong direction.
15. While I ______________ (swim) someone ______________ (steal) my clothes and I ______________
(have to) walk to the hotel in my swimsuit.
16. The floor ______________ (be) covered with balls of wool. Obviously Grandmother ______________
(knit) something.
17. I ______________ (find) this coin as I ______________ (dig) in the garden. It looks very old.
18. When I first ______________ (meet) him, he ______________ (work) in a cafe.
19. When I ______________ (read) a book, I ______________ (hear) a knock, I ______________ (go) to
the door and ______________ (open) it, but I ______________ (not recognize) my friend at first because I
______________ (not wear) my glasses.
20. When I ______________ (come) in they ______________ (sit) round the fire.