PAST SIMPLE versus PAST CONTINUOUS EXERCISES

A. Answer the questions below:

1. What were you doing at 7:35 this morning?

____________________________________________________________________.

2. Where did you live when you were a child?

____________________________________________________________________.

3. What was your friend doing when you last called them?

____________________________________________________________________.

B. Past Simple versus Past Continuous: Read the paragraph below. Find the 5 mistakes. Circle the
mistakes and write the correct sentence.

My friend Steve lives in Newcastle. When I was calling him yesterday, he was answering immediately.
Steve said he was being busy and couldn’t talk. He was having a lot of work yesterday and didn’t even
having time for lunch.

1. ______________________________________

2. ______________________________________

3. ______________________________________

4. ______________________________________

5. ______________________________________

D. Write questions to find out about your partner’s childhood. Use the Past Simple and Past Simple
Continuous in the questions. Ask your partner the questions, discuss, and take notes.

Example: Who was your best friend when you were 10 years old?

1. ____________________________________________________________________?

2. ____________________________________________________________________?

3. ____________________________________________________________________?

4. ____________________________________________________________________?
E. After you have interviewed a classmate or the teacher with the questions above, write a short
paragraph reporting what you learned from them. Use the Past Simple and Past Continuous verb
tenses as much as possible:

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D. Past Simple versus Past Continuous: Complete the following sentences with the correct verb
forms.

1. When you called yesterday at 8:00, I (mop) ______________________________ the floor while Jane
(cook) ______________________________ dinner.

2. Before I (come) ______________________________ to the exciting city of Miami, my life (be)

____________________________ very boring.

3. I (sleep) ______________________________ when she (call) _____________________________ .