NARRATIVE TENSES – ALL PAST TENSES

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Exercises: 1 2 3

Narrative tenses – all past tenses

Exercise 1

Choose the correct narrative tenses to complete the sentences below.

You have completed this test.

Correct answers: 5/10.

Your score is 50%.

Check your answers:

1 I told John not to drive, because he _____ all night.

a. drank
b. was drinking
c. had drunk

d. had been drinking

➪ We use the past perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about longer
continuous actions that started earlier in the past than the main events of the story.

2 Why did you change the channel? I ______ that movie.

a. watched

b. was watching

c. had watched
d. had been watching

➪ We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past or longer actions
interrupted by shorter actions in past simple. In the sentence above, when you
changed the channel, watching the movie was in progress.

3 When I _____ out of the shower the lights _____.

a. got / were getting o!

b. had got / were getting o!

c. was getting / went o!
d. had been getting / had got o!

➪ We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past or longer actions
interrupted by shorter actions in past simple.

4 When I saw Clara I realised that she ______ much in all those years.

a. didn't change

b. wasn't changing
c. hadn't changed
d. hadn't been changing

➪ We use the past perfect simple (and not continuous) to say how much of
something or how many things we had done earlier in the past.

5 When he entered the room somebody _____ him in the head.

a. hit

b. was hitting
c. had hit
d. had been hitting

➪ We use the past simple to talk about past events in chronological order; i.e. for the
main events of a story.

6 He admitted that he ______ all the money from the box.

a. took

b. was taking
c. had taken
d. had been taking

➪ We use the past perfect simple to talk about earlier events and experiences, or
single actions completed earlier in the past.

7 The burglar _____ to open the safe when he _____ the owner come in.

a. was trying / heard

b. tried / heard
c. had been trying / had heard
d. tried / was hearing

➪ We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past or longer actions
interrupted by shorter actions in past simple.

8 I knew he _____ because his eyes were red.

a. cried

b. was crying

c. had cried
d. had been crying

➪ We use the past perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about longer
continuous actions that started earlier in the past than the main events of the story.

9 The plane in which the football team _____ crashed and none of them survived.

a. travelled

b. were travelling

c. had travelled
d. had been travelling

➪ We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past or longer actions
interrupted by shorter actions in past simple.

10 We _____ for about 20 minutes when the plane was hit by turbulence.

a. flew
b. were flying

c. had flewn

d. had been flying

➪ We use the past perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about longer
continuous actions that started earlier in the past than the main events of the story.

Exercises: 1 2 3

Related tests:

Narrative tenses, used to,

would
Past simple, past continuous, past
perfect

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