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.
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) ______ New York. You can't imagine what
happened to me yesterday! I was walking in Mitte at around noon (2) _______ it
started raining. (3) ______ I was running back to the hotel, I saw a famous actor who
was eating in a restaurant. I went in and (4) ______ hello and he gave me two tickets
to see his new film. Isn't that great?
That's all for now. See you (5) ______ I get back!
Love,
Rachel
Exercise 4: Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the
past continuous
1. A: How (1) _______________ (Anne/ break) her leg?
B: She (2) ______________ (ride) her horse when she (3) _______________ (fall)
and (4) __________ (land) on her leg.
A: (5) ________________ (she/go) to hospital?
2. A: When (1) ___________ (you/see) Peter?
B: While I (2) ___________ (do) my shopping at the supermarket
3. A: I (1) __________ (call) you last night but you (2) _____________ (not/ answer).
Where were you?
B: I (3) __________________ (jog) in the park
Exercise 5: Give the correct forms of the verbs given in the
brackets
Exercise 5: 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.
Exercise 6: Supply the correct tenses of the verbs in brackets
One afternoon, a big wolf (wait) ____________ 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) ____________ a basket of food. 'Are you carrying that basket to your
grandmother?' asked the wolf. The little girl said yes, she (be)____________. So the
wolf (ask) ____________her where her grandmother lived and the little girl
(tell)____________ him and he (disappear)____________ into the wood.
When the little girl (open) ____________ the door of her grandmother's house, she
(see)____________ that there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and nightgown
on. She (approach)____________ no nearer than twenty-five feet from the bed when
she (see)____________ 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)
____________ an automatic pistol out of her basket and (shoot) ____________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) ____________ a new alarm clock the other day in Taylor's the jewellers,
when I actually (2. see) ____________ somebody shoplifting. I'd finished paying for
my clock and as I (3. turn) ____________ round, an elderly woman (4. slowly put)
____________ a silver plate into a bag that she (5. carry) ____________. Then she
(6. walk) ____________ over to another part of the shop and (7. pick up)
____________ an expensive-looking watch a number of times. When she (8. think)
____________ that nobody (9. look) ____________, she (10. drop) ____________ it
into the bag. Before I (11. have) ____________ a chance to tell the staff in the shop,
she (12. notice) ____________ that I (13. watch) ____________ her and (14.
hurry)____________ out. Unfortunately for her, two police officers (15. walk)
____________ past just at that moment and she (16. run) ____________ straight
into them.
Exerccise 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

look - see

play - break

start - check in

live - spend

1. Just as I was getting into the bath all the lights went off.
2. I……………………..to go away this weekend, but my boss…………………..me
some work that I have to finish by Monday.
3. When I………………………..in Paris, I……………………three hours a day
travelling to and from work.

4. A friendly American couple…………………..chatting to him as he…………………at
the hotel reception.
5. I bumped into Lena last week. She……………………….a lot better than when I
last…………………..her.
6. My boss…………………………..into the office just as I…………………………
everyone my holiday photos.
7. I…………….badminton four times a week before I……………………..my ankle.
Exercise 9: Choose the correct alternative “When/ While”
1. I had a bad dream _____________ I was sleeping on the sofa
2. I was talking to my husband in the park _____________ two cars crashed behind
us.
3. You called me last night _____________ I was studying for an important exam.
4. The students were doing an exercise _____________ the bell rang.
5. Anna was doing her homework _____________ 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.