IES Libertas. Torrevieja. Departamento de Inglés
past simple, past continuous and past perfect
1. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the past simple or past continuous.
a. I was going (go) to work when my car broke down (break down).
b. I (fall down) when I (clean) the windows.
c. I (study) for five hours and then I (go) to sit the exam.
d. Yesterday I (go) to the cinema and later I (meet) my friends.
e. While I (study) my brother (listen) to the radio.
f. I (not go) to the school because I (have) a terrible headache.
2. Tick the correct option. Past simple or past perfect.
a. He walked into the bus station only to find that the bus left / ; had left.
b. My brother told me that Bill died / had died.
c. Where is he? My sister asked / had asked.
d. Lucas was very happy. He got / had got what he was looking for.
e. I was going to leave when I remembered / had remembered I didn’t have the key.
f. When I went to the stadium I realized / had realized that the match had been postponed.
g. My sister moved to the house where she lived / had lived when she was a little girl.
h. When I was having a shower I heard / had heard the phone ringing.
3. Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of the past simple or the past continuous.
a. Mark heard (hear) a cry for help while he was swimming (swim) in the sea.
b. Mary (close) the window because it (rain).
c. I (read) a magazine when the doorbell (ring).
d. Pete (play) in the football final when he (score) a brilliant goal.
e. The last time I (speak) to Mark he (study) law in Manchester.
f. I (phone) my mother because I (be) worried about her health.
4. Complete the text. Use the correct form of the past simple, past continuous, past perfect
simple or past perfect continuous.
Jack Williams was sixteen years old in 1940. He lived (live) with his family in a small house
in Liverpool. Tom (have) a job in a factory. He (work)
there since he was fourteen. One day Tom (walk) along the road to the
factory when he (meet) Katy. Katy was younger than Tom and
(stay) with her aunt since her mother died. Tom (be) surprised to see her so early in the
morning. ‘Where are you going?’ he asked. ‘To the Smith’s house,’ she replied. ‘They
(offer) me a job in the kitchens.’
1º Bachillerato 1
