Activity 1. Complete the story with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

Use the past

simple or past continuous.

Alvin Straight, a 73-year old, ______________ (live) quietly on his farm in Iowa, USA, when he
heard the news that his brother Lyle was seriously ill. After ten years with no contact between
the brothers, Alvin _________________ (decide) to visit Lyle. Alvin couldn’t drive so
he________________ (buy) a lawnmower, which moved at five miles per hour,
and_________________ (begin) the 250-mile journey.
While he________________ (travel), he met many people including a priest and a teenage girl
who was running away from her family. He helped them all simple by talking about life. Some
of them also_____________________ (help) him. For example, one day when
he___________________ (drive) the lawnmower, it broke down. While two
mechanics_____________________ (fix) it, he met a friendly couple and__________________
(stay) with them.
The journey took him six weeks. And ________________ the story___________________
(end) happily? See the 1999 film, The Straight Story, to find out!

Activity 2. Make sentences with the prompts and the correct form of the verb in the box. Use
the past simple or past continuous.

pass know like play dance swim travel have

1 He /tennis when he hurt his leg.

2 Sarah / the job because it was boring

3 While they / the met lots of other tourists.

4 How / you / my name?

5 Who / you /with in that nightclub when I saw you?

6 I / in the sea when I saw the shark

7 I / my exam?

8 The thief broke in while Jack / breakfast

Activity 3. Choose the correct verb form.

1 I saw / was seeing a very good programme on TV last night.
2 While I shopped / was shopping this morning, I lost / was losing my money. I don’t know
how.
3 Last week the police stopped / were stopping Alan in his car because he drove / was driving
at over 8 km/h.
4 How did you cut / were you cutting your finger?
5 I cooked / was cooking and I dropped / was dropping the knife.
Activity 4. Arrange the sentences to make one meaningful paragraph. Put letter (a, b, c, d)
in the brackets to show the order.
1. ( ) However, when we were about to go, suddenly, heavy rain came.
( ) It was impossible for us to go to the zoo.
( ) We were so happy to hear it, because it had been a long time for us not to go for a
holiday together.
( ) So, although we were disappointed about the zoo, Mom’s pizza could cheer us a little,
afterward.
( ) Then, mom said she would bake us some pizza.
( ) Last week, my father promised us to go to the zoo.