TENSES T 23

Past Tense – Simple or progressive

1. It ______________________ (rain) when we __________________ (come) out of the shopping

centre.

2. It _________________(happen) very quickly. The car ______________________ (come) out of the

side road and then the van ______________________ (drive) into the back of it.

3. I ______________________ (be) ill last week.

4. He ______________________ (break)his leg when he ______________________ (ski) .

5. I ______________________ (look)out of the window and saw that people __________________

(walk) in the park.

6. Emma ______________________ (pass) her exam a few weeks ago.

7. When we ______________________ (see) the spaceship we ___________________(stop) the car.

8. When ______________________ (you buy) the car? – I ______________________ (buy) it a few

years ago.

9. He ______________________ (sit) in the garden when a wasp ______________________(sting)

him in the nose.

10. Claire ______________________ (go) to Egypt last month.

11. She ______________________ (have) a beautiful dream when the alarm clock ________________
(ring).

12. The car ______________________ (stop) at the lights.

13. We ______________________ (drive) home in the middle of the night when we ______________
(see) a flashing light.

14. Soft music ______________________ (play) when I ______________________ (go) into the room.

15. ______________________ (you buy) that bag while I ______________________ (look) after the
children?

16. It ______________________ (be) peaceful and the birds ______________________ (sing).

17. Was _________________________(Jimmy, already wait) for you when you

______________________ (get) there?

18. I ______________________ (ring) at about 3 o’clock yesterday, but you

______________________ (not pick) up the phone. – What ______________________ (you do) ?
– I ______________________ (help) Dad in the garden so I probably ______________________
(not hear)it.

19. I ______________________ (lie) in the bath when the phone ______________________ (ring). It
______________________ (stop) after a few rings.

20. It ______________________ (be) cold when we ______________________ (leave) the house that
day.

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 B1 Past Tense Simple and Progressive T024

Fill in the correct form of the past tense.

1. I ________________
saw my old friend in town the other day. He ________________
seemed to ignore me
and ________________ somewhere else. (SEE, SEEM, LOOK)
was looking
2. The teacher ________________
took were climbing up the tree. (TAKE,
a photo of us while we ________________
CLIMB)
3. We ________________
meeted Martha at the airport last week. She ________________ for the arrival of
her sister while we ________________ to New York. (MEET, WAIT, TRAVEL)
4. "What ________________ to him? – He ________________ totally surprised when I
________________ him. " – (YOU SAY, LOOK, SEE)
5. He ________________ exam papers when I ________________ him. (CORRECT, VISIT)
6. A man ________________ on the road while I ________________ my bike. Luckily, I
________________ not to crash into him. (FALL, RIDE, MANAGE)
7. We ________________ a few miles off the coast when a horrible thunderstorm
waited
________________ up. We ________________ to get to safety as soon as possible. (SAIL,
COME, HAVE)
8. I haven't seen him for ages. When I last ________________ him, he ________________ for a
new job. (SEE, LOOK)
9. While the two teams ________________ up everyone ________________ a flag. It
________________ a very emotional moment. (WARM, WAVE, BE)
10. "What ___________________ when I ________________ to your place yesterday evening?" – "I
________________ the baby". (YOU DO, COME, FEED)
11. I ________________ down a dark alley when suddenly I ________________ footsteps. I
________________ around and ________________ that an old woman with a dog
________________ me. (WALK, HEAR, TURN, SEE, FOLLOW)
12. "Why ___________________ out last night?" – "I ________________ too tired and ______________
to stay at home." (YOU NOT GO, BE, DECIDE)
13. The policeman asked me, " How fast ________________ when you ________________ the old
lady in front of you?" (YOU DRIVE, SEE)
14. Mom ________________ dinner when we ________________ home from football practice.
(PREPARE, GET)
15. When I ________________ young, I always ________________ to be a pilot. (BE, WANT)
16. Las Sunday afternoon I ________________ for a walk in the park and ________________ a cup
of coffee at a local restaurant. (GO, HAVE)
17. When they ________________ to the airport the plane ________________ off. (GET, JUST TAKE)
18. I ________________ on a bench in the park when a man ________________ up to me and
________________ to know what time it ________________. (SIT, COME, WANT, BE)

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 Past Simple / Past Continuous (2)

1.- Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets into the
correct tense Past Simple or Past Continuous.

1.- It _____________ (snow) when I _________ (leave)

home this morning.
2.- It was a sunny afternoon and people __________ (sit)
on the grass in the park. Then suddenly it __________
(start) to rain.
3.- A: I tried to explain my problem to her.
B: ____________________ (she/listen)?
4.- 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.
5.- I nearly had an accident today. A car ____________ (come) towards
me, but I moved quickly out of the way and fortunately nothing
____________ (happen).
6.- A: Which hotel ______________ (you/stay) in when you lost your
passport?
B: I don’t remember. I ____________ (visit) many places during my
European tour and I ____________ (stay) in many different hotels.
7.- I ____________ (move) to Hastings in 1999. I ____________ (live)
there when I met them.
8.- ________________(many people / wait) for the 9:15 bus
last night?
9.- I ______________ (dance) with my girlfriend when the
disc jockey played our favourite song.
10.- I ____________ (study) grammar when I ___________
(fall) asleep.
11.- The scientists ___________ (work) in their laboratory
when they___________ (discover) the new drug.
12.- We ___________ (climb) the wall when the gardener
___________ (see) us.
13.-Vicky ___________ (have) a beautiful dream when the alarm clock
__________ (ring)
14.- As he ____________ (run) for the bus he ___________ (collide) with
a street lamp.
15.- When he __________ (carry) a suitcase, he __________ (drop) it on
his foot.
16..- ___________ (you / do) your homework on the bus
while you ____________ (come) to school?
17.- The students ____________ (read) the article when
the last class ___________ (finish).
18.- When I ____________ (arrive) at the cinema, my
friends __________ (wait) for me.
19.- ____________ (you / listen) to the teacher when she ___________
(explain) this exercise?
20.- Susan __________ (play) the piano while Mary ___________ (sing).