PAST CONTINUOUS vs PAST SIMPLE

A) Fill in the blanks with a correct form of PAST CONTINUOUS:

1. It was very cold. The sun .......... was not shining. ...................... (not / shine)

2. It wasn’t a stormy night. The wind ......wasn’t blowing................... (not / blow)

3. He wasn’t sleeping. He .....was looking.................... (look) at the ceiling.

4. They were having a rest. They ...were not working............ (not / work).

5. They were very happy. They were enjoying (enjoy) the party.

6. He was at home. He …was watching… (watch) a movie on TV.

7. He was getting worse. He wasn’t recovering. (not / recover).

8. We ...................... were traveling (travel) in the north of Turkey when we were on

holiday.

9. She was driving (drive) so fast when the accident happened.

10. I .....wasn’t sleeping...........(not / sleep) when you came in.

Fill in the blanks with a correct form, the PAST SIMPLE or the PAST CONTINUOUS:

1. He ....was talking................................ (talk) with Mary, when Mrs. Smith came in.

2. They.....were studying / studied....................(study) two hours last night.

3. Jane was sleeping (sleep) when the telephone rang.

4. As I ......was walking.. (walk) to the lab, I met my friend.

5. We ....were watching / watched.... (watch) TV last night.

6. The customer .....Was paying ......................... (pay) his cheque when he dropped his
credit card.pamela

7. The barber .............cut.......... (cut) my hair yesterday.

8. She was dancing . (dance) when she hurt her ankle.

 9. It was raining. (rain) hard when I got up.

10. It ......rained.............. (rain) hard last night.

Complete the sentences with the words in parentheses using the SIMPLE PAST or the
PAST PROGRESSIVE:

1. Sally ........was eating............(eat) dinner last night when someone knocked (knock)
on the door.

2. I began to study at seven last night. Fred ............came......... (come) at seven- thirty. I
...............was studying ........ (study) when Fred ...................came.......... (come).

3. While I was studying (study) last night, Fred dropped by to visit me. (drop by) to visit
me.

4. My roommate’s parents ...called.............................. (call) him last night while we

..................were watching.......................... (watch) TV.

5. My mother called me around five. My husband came home a little after five. When he
came (come) home, I was talking (talk) to my mother on the phone.

6. Yesterday Tom and Janice .....went........ (go) to the zoo around one. They
...saw.......... (see) many kinds of animals. They stayed at the zoo for two hours.
While they ...were walking... (walk) home, it ....began....... (begin) to rain, so they
........stopped.......... (stop) at a small café and ........had....... (have) a cup of coffee.

7. Yesterday afternoon I went (go) to visit the Parker family. When I got (get) there
around two o’clock, Mrs. Parker was (be) in the yard. She was planting (plant)
flowers in her garden. Mr. Parker was (be) in the garage. He as working (work) on
their car. He was changing (change) the oil.

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