A. Fill in the gaps with the past simple of the verbs in brackets.

1. Yesterday, Hanna ____________________ (post) a letter to her cousins in Cape Town.

2. I ____________________ (go) to London two days ago for a business meeting.
3. They ____________________ (eat) at that fancy new restaurant last night.
4. Susan ______________ (go) to bed at 9 p.m., ______________ (get up) at 6 a.m. and
_____________ (leave) home around 11 to meet her father.
5. Last year, Peter ____________________ (study) hard for his exams.
6. Alice ____________________ (cook) for herself when she was a student.
7. We ____________________ (not/play) basketball yesterday.
8. He ____________________ (be) very busy.
9. ____________________ (he/watch) TV last night?
10. They ____________________ (not/be) at home.

B. Read Annas email to her friend telling her about a rock concert and fill in the gaps with the past
continuous of the verbs in brackets.
Hello, Paula.
I had a great time last night. The concert was amazing! Some fans (1)_________________ (scream),
some (2) ________________ (shout) all around me and some (3) ________________ (use) their mobiles
to take pictures of the band on stage. At some point, someone (4) _________________ (talk) on my ear
but I couldnt understand what they (5) _________________ (say)! The music was awesome! After the
concert, we (6) _________________ (look) for a place to buy something to drink when we met Philip. He
(7)
_________________ (eat) a snack. When we came back (around midnight), it(8) _________________
(rain), and we were desperate to be back in bed.

C. Fill in the blanks with the past continuous of the verbs in brackets.
1. Susan _________________ (ask) me the way to the cafeteria when you came in.
2. While they ___________ (try) to figure out what was wrong with the computer the lights went out.
3. Last night, Kate _________________ (play) snooker with her friends at the local pub.
4. My mother _________________ (phone) my sister when I arrived home.
5. Yesterday, a strange man _____________ (stand) in front of my house.
6. As I _________________ (leave) home I heard him crying for help.
D. Fill in the gaps with the correct verb tense: past simple or continuous.
1. Daniel and Frank _________________ (walk) home when they _________________ (hear) a strange
noise.
2. They _________________ (know) someone _________________ (follow) them.
3. Im afraid I _________________ (not hear) what you said.
4. The sun _________________ (shine) when I _________________ (wake up).
5. I _________________ (lose) my wallet when I _________________ (play) football with my friends.
6. My sister _________________ (burn) herself while she _________________ (bake) cookies.
7. They _________________ (have) a party when the lights _________________ (go) out.
8. When they _________________ (arrive) in Madrid it _________________ (rain).

E. Read the paragraphs and put the verbs into the past simple or continuous.
a) Two years ago, my friends and I (1) _______________ (go) camping. It (2) _________________ (be)
sunny and we (3) _________________ (go) swimming. While we (4) _________________ (swim), a film
crew (5) _________________ (arrive) with lots of actors. The director (6) ____________________ (tell) us
to stay in the water because it was natural. It was my first film and the only thing covering my skin were
my swimming trunks.

b) I (1) ___________________ (meet) my girlfriend last year. I (2) ___________________ (see) her while I
(3)
___________________ (play) football on the beach. I (4) ___________________ (ask) her out and she
(5)
___________________ (accept). It was great!

c) Last holiday term I (1) _________________ (find) a part-time job working in a restaurant kitchen and
I (2) _________________ (love) it! I (3) _________________ (do) all sorts of different things and (4)
_________________ (learn) a lot from the experience. Both the chef and my other colleagues (5)
_________________ (help) me all time and the hours (6) _________________ (go) by really fast.

d) My mother (1) _________________ (enlist) me on a summer girls football school and I (2)
_________________ (love) it! The other girls (3) _________________ always _____________ (play)
pranks on me that was annoying but I (4) _________________ (enjoy) it all the same.

F. Complete the sentences using the Past Simple of the verbs in brackets.

1. When I (be) younger I (not / understand) these

questions about the environment.

2. (you / talk) about this with your friends?

3. Peter (go) camping this weekend.

4. I (read) some information about it and (understand)

the importance of them.

5. Our class (visit) a recycling centre.

G. Use the adjectives in the right order to complete the sentences.

1. Lady Gaga is wearing a coat. (fur / large / pink)

2. In Winter I like wearing my scarf. (brown / long / woollen)

3. My father bought my mother an ring. (expensive / gold / white)

4. I will wear my jacket tomorrow. (leather / tight / black)

H. Complete the sentences using used to / didnt use to.

1. My father to go to work by car but now he goes on foot. ( )

2. This place to be a very famous theatre. (x)

3. Hillary to ride her bike in the park. (x)

4. Mary to study French?

I. Fill in the blanks with the Past Simple or the Past Continuous of the verbs given in brackets.

Yesterday (1) (be) the worst day of my life.

There (2) (be) dark clouds in the sky and a
terrible storm (3) (begin) with a lot of
thunder and lightning. I (4) (work) on my
computer when suddenly it (5) (break) down. All
my work disappeared! I (6) (decide) to go
downstairs to call my dad. While I (7) (run) down the
stairs, I tripped over my sisters toy and (8) (twist) my ankle.
What a terrible day! Now Im stuck at home. The only good thing is
that I have my mobile phone!

J. Complete the sentences with used to or didnt use to.

1. When I was younger I have a mobile phone. Now I do.

2. He play Farmville on the computer, but he stopped a few months ago.

3. Peter have a small cell phone, but last week he sold it online and
bought a new smartphone.

4. I go online very often, but now Im addicted to social networking.

5. My parents have mobile phones when they were teenagers. Now they
do.

6. I play football with my friends when I was younger. Now we play online games instead.