Grammar: Past Simple & Past Continuous

Grammar
Past simple & Past continuous
A Choose the correct item.
1 The travel agent was sending/sent us our 4 The man gave/was giving us directions to
tickets by email. the museum when my mobile phone
2 He packed/was packing his things, rang/was ringing.
closed/was closing his suitcase and was 5 When they lived in Belfast, they were
leaving/left for the airport. going/went on city breaks to Venice quite
3 Penny was waiting/waited in the queue at often.
the check-in desk when a man rudely tried 6 The flight from Melbourne landed/was
to push in front of her. landing at 9:00 am instead of 10:00.
B Complete the sentences with the past simple or past continuous form of
the verbs in the list.
 drive  pay  arrive  miss  stay  lose  fly  wait

1 We were exhausted by the time we 5 How much .......................................................
..................................................... at the hotel. for your ticket to New York?
2 Andy met an old friend while he 6 The plane ............................................... over
..................................................... for his flight. the Atlantic when one of its engines failed.
3 Mike’s holiday was ruined when he 7 We only ...........................................................
.................................................... his passport. one night at the hotel.
4 David ................................................ his flight 8..............................................................Anna
and couldn’t get a seat on another one. .........................................................................
to the airport when she got a flat tyre.
Past simple & Present perfect
C Choose the correct item.

1 I visited/have visited ten 4 They got/have got married three years
archaeological sites so far this week. ago.
2 Jenny has lived/lived in Paris for most 5 Michelle bought/has bought a lot of
of her life and doesn’t like travelling abroad. souvenirs when she was in Rome.
3 Where have you been/did you go on 6 Have you seen/Did you see the tour
holidays last summer? guide anywhere? I need to speak to him.
Past simple, Past Continuous, Used to/Would
D Choose the correct item.
1 Pat used to work/was working in an office 5 Where did you use to go/were you going
before she became a tour guide. on holiday when you were a kid?
2 The Andersons used to/would have a house by 6 Everyone was listening/would listen to the
the beach, but they sold it last year. tour guide very carefully.
3 Yesterday, Karen travelled/used to travel to 7 They went/would go to Italy twice when they
South America. were younger.
4 Adam would fly/was flying to Rome on 8 James and Lily used to discuss/were
business quite often before he retired. discussing their holidays when I walked in
the room.
Past perfect simple & Past perfect continuous
E Choose the correct item.
1 A: Why was Barry so dirty? 5 A: I heard John missed his

B: Oh, he had worked/had flight.
been working in the garden. B: Yeah, his plane had
2 A: Did Joe tell you where Lucy already been leaving/had already
is? left by the time he woke up.
B: No, he said he hadn’t been 6 A: Why was Joan
seeing/hadn’t seen her for ages. complaining to the hotel manager?
3 A: How come the hotel gave B: Because the guests in
our room away? the room next to hers had been
B: Because we hadn’t playing/had played loud music all
confirmed/hadn’t been confirming our night.
reservation.
4 A: Did your flight take off on
time?
B: No, we had been
waiting/had waited for three hours before
they announced it.
Past simple, Past continuous, Past perfect & Past perfect continuous
F Put the verbs in brackets into the past perfect or the past perfect
continuous.
1 Liam ................................................................................... (try) to book his ticket online for

half an hour before Jason showed him how to do it.
2 Mario was upset because his sister ............................................................................. (talk)
on the phone for two hours and wouldn’t let him use it.
3 They got a great deal on their hotel room because they ........................................................
(book) it months in advance.
4 They cancelled the sightseeing tour because it ........................................................... (rain)
for three hours and the streets were starting to flood.
5 Tina ........................................................................ (never/travel) by plane before and she
was rather nervous.
6 Nathan .................................................................... (wait) for road assistance for two hours
before they finally got there.
G Choose the correct item.
1 They ….. to the UK two years ago.

A had moved B have moved C moved
2 Brian ….. his parents for a new bike for a year before they agreed to buy him one.
A had been asking B used to ask C was asking
3 Andrea ….. her holiday photos yet; she’ll do it tomorrow.

A hasn’t developed B didn’t develop C hadn't developed
4 The sun ….. as they were setting sail from the marina.
A would rise B was rising C had been rising
5 A pickpocket stole my wallet while I ….. .

A didn’t look B wasn’t looking C hadn't looked
6 Mr Harris ….. very keen on adventure holidays, but now he prefers something quiet.
A used to be B would be C had been
7 By the time they got to the station, their train ….. .

A was departing B departed C had departed
8 Peter ….. in his cabin when the ship started swaying from side to side.
A was sleeping B had slept C would sleep

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Grammar

Past simple & Past continuous

A Choose the correct item.

 drive  pay  arrive  miss  stay  lose  fly  wait

Past simple & Present perfect

C Choose the correct item.

Past simple, Past Continuous, Used to/Would

D Choose the correct item.

Past perfect simple & Past perfect continuous

E Choose the correct item.

1 A: Why was Barry so dirty? 5 A: I heard John missed his

1 Liam ................................................................................... (try) to book his ticket online for

G Choose the correct item.

1 They ….. to the UK two years ago.

3 Andrea ….. her holiday photos yet; she’ll do it tomorrow.

5 A pickpocket stole my wallet while I ….. .

7 By the time they got to the station, their train ….. .

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