Past Simple / Past Continuous

A Circle the correct answer.

1 The sun ......

a when I looked out of the 4 They ......
a for their friends an hour ago.
window. a were waiting b waited
a was shining b shone 5 We ......
a the house twice last week.
2 What ......
b when you saw him at the dance? a cleaned b was cleaning
a did he wear b was he wearing 6 While Sam ......
b his homework, I was playing
3 They ......
a spaghetti for dinner last night. the guitar.

a made b were making a is doing b was doing

B Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets. Use the Past Simple
or Past Continuous.

saw
1 I ................................. (see) Helen yesterday afternoon.
2 The girls .................................
were playing (play) basketball at 3.00 pm.
3 We .................................
left (leave) the party at midnight.
didn't do
4 Jane ................................. (not do) her homework yesterday.
5 The rain .................................
stopped (stop) five minutes ago.
6 .................................
Were you .................................
swimming (swim) in the sea at 6.00 am?
arrived
7 We ................................. (arrive) at the bus stop too late.
8 How .................................
did you .................................
break (break) the window?

C Fill in the blanks with the Past Simple or Past Continuous form of the verb in brackets.
was swimming (swim) in the river, I ......................
1 While I ............................ saw (see) some frogs.
2 Jim ............................
wasn't paying (not pay) attention when he ......................
drove (drive) his car into a tree.
3 What ......................
were you ......................
doing (do) while she ......................
was sleeping (sleep)?
4 Everyone ............................
was sleeping (sleep) when the robbers ......................
broke in (break in).
5 ............................
Was your friend ......................
standing (stand) outside when you ......................
came (come) home?
started
6 It ............................
was starting (start) raining while we ............................
were playing (play) tennis.
7 We ............................
arrived (arrive) at the station just as the train ............................
left (leave).
8 I’m sorry. I ............................ talking
didn't listen (not listen) while you ............................ (talk).

D Complete the sentences with while or when.

While you were sleeping,
1 when it began to rain.
We were playing basketball ...................... I was building my new
house.
2 ......................
While I was doing my homework, the telephone
rang.
3 ......................
When my father came home last night, we were
making dinner.
when
4 The dog was barking ...................... we were sleeping.

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