Past simple & continuous exercises

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IES Libertas. Torrevieja. Departamento de Inglés 
past simple & past continuous 
1. Complete the sentences with the Past Simple or the Past Continuous forms of the verbs in 
brackets. 
a. 
Were
you 
watching
(watch) the football match on TV when I 
phoned
(phone)? 
b. The teachers _______________ (speak) when you _______________ (arrive) to school. 
c. We _______________ (not like) the movie. It was boring. 
d. I _________________ (not listen) to music last night. I ______________ (study) Chemistry. 
e. She _______________ (have) a shower when you ______________ (knock) at the door. 
f. They _____________ (not go) to the theatre last month. The tickets were all sold. 
g. While Chris and Jane ___________________ (travel) on Saturday, we _________________ 
(prepare) the party for their arrival. 
h. The children _______________ (sing) some songs last week, at the Christmas Festival. 
i. Yesterday, I _______________ (hear) a strange noise while I _______________ (put on) 
my pyjamas. 
j. We _________________ (write) notes in class, when the Headmaster _____________ 
(come) in.
k. What __________ you __________ (do) last Tuesday at 11 p.m.? 
2. Underline the correct answer. 
a. While my mother [cooked / 
was cooking
], she [watched / 
was watching
] TV. 
b. We [slept / were sleeping] in our bedrooms at 6 o’clock. 
c. The boys [played / were playing] baseball when it [started / was starting] to rain. 
d. My cousin [had / was having] dinner when the telephone [rang / was ringing]. 
e. When I [got / was getting] up, my father [read / was reading] the newspaper. 
f. Emilio [fell / was falling] when he [painted / was painting] the wall. 
g. The doctor [examined / was examining] my eyesight yesterday. 
3. Complete the following text with the Past Simple of the Past Continuous forms of the verbs in 
brackets. 
I 
was
(be) with some friends and we _______________ (run) in a race. It was a marathon. 
There _____________ (be) hundreds of runners around us, men and women, and it 
_____________ (be) extremely hot. As we _____________ (cross) a bridge over a river, I 
suddenly _____________ (notice) that everyone in the race _______________ (have) the 
same face, even my friends! They were all the same person! I _____________ (want) to 
stop, but there ______________ (be) so many people behind me that I _______________ 
(have to) keep running. Then I _______ __________ (wake up) screaming. 
4º E.S.O. 
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