Past Continuous and Past Simple Exercises

Fill in the gaps with the correct verb tense Past Simple or Past Continuous.
1. Daniel and Frank _________________ (walk) home when they _________________ (hear) a
strange noise. They _________________ (know) someone _________________ (follow) them.
2. The sun _________________ (shine) when I _________________ (wake up).
3. I _________________ (lose) my wallet when I _________________ (play) football with my
friends.
4. My sister _________________ (burn) herself while she _________________ (bake) cookies.
5. They _________________ (have) a party when the lights _________________ (go) out.
6. When they _________________ (arrive) in Madrid, it _________________ (rain).
Read the paragraphs and put the verbs into the Past Simple or Past Continuous.
(1) (2)
a) Two years ago, my friends and I _______________ (go) camping. It _________________
(be) sunny and we (3)
_________________ (go) swimming. While we (4)
_________________
(5) (6)
(swim), a film crew _________________ (arrive) with lots of actors. The director
____________________ (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
(3) (4)
while I ___________________ (play) football on the beach. I ___________________ (ask)
her out and she (5) ___________________ (accept). It was great!
Past Simple or Past Continuous – Choose the right answer.
1. Last night we phoned / were phoning John to remind him to bring the project tomorrow.
2. At 3:00 pm yesterday I was doing / did my homework.
3. I loved / was loving the film on TV last night.
4. Shakespeare wrote / was writing Romeo and Juliet.
5. While my mother made / was making dinner last night, my father watched / was watching
the football game.
6. At 11:00 pm last night I slept / was sleeping.
7. I cleaned / was cleaning my room when you called / were calling me.
8. They arrived / were arriving home at 7 o’clock yesterday evening.
9. He had / was having a shower when the doorbell rang / was ringing.
10. I ate / was eating two slices of pizza for lunch today.
Past Simple or Past Continuous? Complete the sentences.
1. Last summer, my friends and I ________________________ (travel) around Europe. We really
________________________ (enjoy) ourselves.
2. Sandra ________________________ (have) lunch at 12 o’clock today when I saw her.
3. This time last weekend, they ________________________ (visit) their friends.
4. My computer ________________________ (fall) on the floor but the screen
________________________ (not break). How lucky ________________________ (be) that?
5. Anne is really mad. What ________________________ (you / say) to her when you
________________________ (talk) to her last night?
6. I ________________________ (start) to read a book when John
________________________ (send) me a message.
7. We ________________________ (not see) what happened.
8. Sam and I ________________________ (sit) behind two really tall boys, so we
________________________ (not see) most of the film.
9. Who was that girl you ________________________ (dance) with at Peter’s party?
10. I ________________________ (send) my grandfather an email yesterday with a photo but he
________________________ (not know) how to open it.
Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Simple or Past Continuous.
1. James _________________ (not wait) for me when I

_________________ (arrive).
2. When the phone _________________ (ring), my parents and I
_________________ (have) lunch.
3. I _________________ (listen) to my iPod, so I _________________
(not hear) the fire alarm.
4. You _________________ (not listen) to me when I
_________________ (tell) you to turn the lights off.
5. While we _________________ (sleep) last night, someone
_________________ (steal) my father’s car.
6. While we _________________ (have) the picnic, it _________________ (start) to rain.
7. When I _________________ (walk) into the office, five clerks _________________ (work)
on their computers, the secretary _________________ (talk) on the phone and two
managers _________________ (discuss) new marketing strategies.
8. The doctor _________________ (say) that Tim _________________ (be) too sick to work
and that he _________________ (need) to stay at home for the whole week.
9. ‘What _________________ (you/do) at about 8.00 yesterday evening?’ ‘I
____________________ (work out) at the fitness centre.’
10. Mary _________________ (arrive) at Sue’s house at about midday, but she
_________________ (not be) there. She _________________ (study) at the school library.

Past Continuous and Past Simple Exercises

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Past Continuous and Past Simple Exercises

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Fill in the gaps with the correct verb tense Past Simple or Past Continuous.

b) I (1) ___________________ (meet) my girlfriend last year. I (2)

Past Simple or Past Continuous – Choose the right answer.

1. James _________________ (not wait) for me when I

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