Past Simple vs Past Continuous

A) Complete the sentences. Use the Past Simple and the Past Continuous. An example is
given.

0 (The police/arrive/while/I/have/breakfast)

The police arrived while I was having breakfast.

1 (The storm/start/while/they/drive/home)

2 (I/see/an accident/while/I/wait/for the bus)

3 (Mary/go/to several concerts/while/she/stay/in London)

0 (I/have/breakfast/when/the police/arrive)

I was having breakfast when the police arrived.

4 (My father/cook/the dinner/when/he/burn/his fingers)

5 (The soldiers/prepare/to leave/when/the bomb/explode)

B) Complete the sentences with the words in brackets. Use the Past Simple and the Past
Continuous. An example is given.

0 Beethoven wrote (write) nine symphonies; he was writing... (write) another

symphony when he died.
 1 Last Saturday Tom wanted to make two salads. He_______ (make) the first one in
five minutes. He _______ (make) the second one when his guests _______ (arrive),
and they _______ (help) him to finish it.

2 The architect Gaudi _______ (design) several houses in Barcelona, Spain. Later he
_______ (start) work on a cathedral. He _______ (work) on the cathedral when he
_______ (die).

3 Last month a bank robber _______ (escape) while the police _______ (take) him to
prison. Later they _______ (catch) him again, and this time they _______ (lock) him up
without any problem.

4 Philip's football team were lucky last Saturday. After 20 minutes they _______
(lose), but in the end they_______ (win) the game by 4 goals to 2.

5 John Lennon_______ (sing) and _______ (play) on many records with the Beatles.
After that he _______ (record) several songs without the Beatles. He _______ (prepare)
a new record when Mark Chapman_______ (shoot) him.

6 The evening was getting darker; the street lights _______ (come) on. People_______
(hurry) home after work. I ......................_______ (stand) in a queue at the bus stop.
Suddenly somebody _______ (grab) my bag.

C) What was Mary doing? What did Mary do? Look at the pictures and complete the
sentences with the Past Simple or the Past Continuous.
POLICEWOMAN: What time 0 did you get (you/get) home from work?

MARY: At about six o'clock.

POLICEWOMAN: And what (1) _______ (you/do) after you got home?

MARY: I read the newspaper.

POLICEWOMAN: Did anything happen while (2) _______ (you/read) the paper?

MARY: Yes, the phone (3) _______ (ring).

POLICEWOMAN: What (4) _______ (you/do) when your husband came home?

MARY: I was watching TV, and I (5) _______ (drink) a cup of coffee.

POLICEWOMAN: Did you and your husband stay at home?

MARY: No, I (6) _______ (drink) my coffee. Then I put on my raincoat, and
we (7) _______ (go) out at seven o'clock.

POLICEWOMAN: Why (8) _______ (you/put) your raincoat on?

MARY: Because it (9) _______ (rain), of course.

D) What were the people doing when they heard the news? Look at the pictures and
complete the sentences. Use these words:

eat play have watch paint sit drive

cook the living-room TV tennis
in the garden spaghetti a bath
my car dinner

0 I was having a bath when I heard the news.

0 We were watching TV when we heard the news.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
I was in my last year at school. While I waited 0 was waiting. for my exam results, I decided
___✔____ to find a job for the summer. I finished 1 _____ the exams at the beginning of June
and then I was phoning 2 _____ several different companies to ask if they had 3 _____any
work. In the end I found 4 _____ a job on the railways. On the first day, an inspector told
5_____ me that there was 6_____ other students like me who worked 7 _____ temporarily at
the station.

I was a porter. When passengers were coming 8 _____ to the station with a lot of bags, I
offered 9 _____ to help them. Usually they were saying 10 _____ 'yes', so I carried 11 their
bags to the train. Sometimes, before the train was arriving 12_____ at the station, the
passengers asked 13_____ me questions: 'Do you work here all the time?', 'Are you a
student?’ and so on. I explained 14_____ that I was a student and that I was working 15_____
on the railways just for the summer. When the train was stopping 16 _____at the platform, I
put 17_____ the bags in the compartment.

While I was working 18 at the station, I was meeting 19

another student called Tony. I thought 20 he was very pleasant, and he was

liking 21 me. One day, when we talked 22 about

holidays, Tony said 23 that Italy was a wonderful place and that he

wanted 24 to go there again. We were deciding 25

to go together at the end of the summer so we bought 26 tickets

to go to Rome.

The thing that I remember best was the day that we visited 27
AIL

the Sistine Chapel. When we arrived 28 , it rained

29 and inside there were 30 not very much light.

Suddenly, while we were looking 31 at the paintings, the rain stopped

32 and sunlight came 33 into the Chapel through the high

windows. This was making 34 a fantastic difference and we saw

35 Michelangelo's work in all its glory.