PAST SIMPLE and PAST CONTINUOUS – EXERCISES
A
Put the verbs into the Past Tense Continuous Form:
- I (read) _______________ a book when he
came in.
- The sun (shine)_____________________ when
he went out.
- When you came in I (write)
________________________ .
- I came in while he (write)
_________________________.
- It (rain) ____________________ this
morning when I got up.
- He (work) all day yesterday.
- When I arrived at his house he still
(sleep)______________________.
- The boy jumped off the tram while it
(move)_______________________.
- The fire still (burn)
_______________________ at six o’clock this morning.
- He (walk) ___________________ across the
bridge when his hat blew off.
- She cut her finger while she (cut)
__________________ the bread.
- The bus started while I (get)
___________________ on.
- The light went out while we (have)
___________________ supper.
- I took another cake when you (not
look)___________________________ !
- The children (do)
__________________________ their homework when their father came back from
the office.
B Put the verbs
into the correct form, Past Continuous or Past Simple:
- I (see)
_________________ Sue in town yesterday but she (not/see)
_________________ me. She (look) _____________________ the other way.
- I (meet)
_______________________ Tom and Ann at the airport a few weeks ago. We
(have) ___________________ a chat while we (wait) _____________ for our
flights.
- I (cycle)
_____________________ home yesterday when suddenly a man (step)
________________________ out into the road in front of me. I (go)
__________ quite fast but luckily I (manage) ________________________ to
stop in time and (not/hit) _____________________ him.
- I lit the fire
at 6:00 and it (burn) ___________________ brightly when Tom came in at
7:00.
- I (make)
___________________ a cake when the light went out. I had to finish it in
the dark.
- I didn’t want
to meet Paul so when he entered the room I (leave) ____________.
- He (have)
____________________ a bath when the phone rang. Very unwillingly he (get)
_________________ out of the bath and (go) ____________to answer it.
- My dog (walk)
__________________ along quietly when Mr Pitt’s Pekinese attacked him.
- On Sundays he
always (wear) __________________ a bowler hat and (carry)
___________________ an umbrella.
- He suddenly (realize)
______________________ that he (travel) ________________________ in the
wrong direction.
C Put the verbs
into the correct form, Past Continuous or Past Simple:
1. Mr Smith never (wake)
___________________ up in time in the mornings and always (get)
______________________ into trouble for being late; so one day he (go) _______
____________ to town and (buy) an alarm clock.
2. To get home he (have to)
____________________ go through a field where a bad-tempered bull usually
(graze)____________________ . (bad-tempered = schlecht gelaunt / graze = grasen)
3. This bull usually (not
chase) __________________ people unless something (make) ____________________
him angry. (chase
= jagen, verfolgen) Unfortunately, as Mr Smith (cross) ____________________ the field, his
alarm clock (go) _________________ off.
4. This (annoy)
____________________ the bull, who immediately (begin) ___________________ to
chase Mr. Smith. (annoy = verärgern, stören)
5. Mr. Smith (carry)
____________________ an open umbrella as it (rain) _______ ____________________
slightly. He (throw) _______________________ the umbrella to the ground and
(run) ________________________ away as fast as he could.
6. The bull (stop)
_____________________ and (begin) ____________________ to attack the umbrella.
While he (do) ______________________ this Mr Smith escaped.