Choose the best narrative tense to complete each sentence.
1When I arrived at the café, Nina ............... to her brother on the phone, so she only waved and continued her call.
Wrong!
"was talking" describes an action already in progress when the arrival occurred; she continued the call afterward.
2The scoreboard showed that ten minutes had passed, so the match ............... by the time we found our seats.
Wrong!
"had already started" shows that the match began before we found our seats, as confirmed by the scoreboard.
3I was halfway to the station when I noticed that I ............... my ticket on the kitchen table.
Wrong!
"had left" refers to leaving the ticket at home before noticing the problem on the way to the station.
4By the end of the lesson, every group had a correct answer because the students ............... the main problem.
Wrong!
"had solved" describes a completed action with a visible result: every group had a correct answer.
5While Omar ............... the report, his computer crashed before the progress bar reached 100%.
Wrong!
"was saving" describes the action in progress when the computer crashed, before the process was complete.
6We could not get into the flat because someone ............... a key in the lock on the inside before going out through the back door.
Wrong!
"had left" shows that the key was put in the lock before the speakers tried to enter the flat.
7Tom was exhausted when he arrived at two because he ............... since six that morning and had stopped only twice.
Wrong!
"had been driving" emphasizes the long activity continuing from six until Tom arrived, explaining his exhaustion.
8When the road reopened at noon, the snow ............... for six hours, but it had finally stopped half an hour earlier.
Wrong!
"had been falling" describes an activity lasting for six hours before it stopped and the road reopened.
9I ............... my coat when the doorbell rang; I still had one sleeve empty.
Wrong!
"was putting on" describes the unfinished action in progress when the doorbell rang; one sleeve was still empty.
10After I had read the email twice, I ............... Marta to make sure I had understood it.
Wrong!
"called" advances the narrative with the next completed action after the earlier action expressed by the past perfect.
11The queue moved so slowly that, when we reached the front, the shop ...............; a notice on the locked door said it had shut at six.
Wrong!
"had already closed" shows that the shop closed before we reached the front, as the locked door confirms.
12The sun ............... as we approached the coast, and its lower edge was still visible above the sea.
Wrong!
"was setting" describes the background action in progress as we approached the coast; part of the sun was still visible.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- When I arrived at the café, Nina was talking to her brother on the phone, so she only waved and continued her call.
- The scoreboard showed that ten minutes had passed, so the match had already started by the time we found our seats.
- I was halfway to the station when I noticed that I had left my ticket on the kitchen table.
- By the end of the lesson, every group had a correct answer because the students had solved the main problem.
- While Omar was saving the report, his computer crashed before the progress bar reached 100%.
- We could not get into the flat because someone had left a key in the lock on the inside before going out through the back door.
- Tom was exhausted when he arrived at two because he had been driving since six that morning and had stopped only twice.
- When the road reopened at noon, the snow had been falling for six hours, but it had finally stopped half an hour earlier.
- I was putting on my coat when the doorbell rang; I still had one sleeve empty.
- After I had read the email twice, I called Marta to make sure I had understood it.
- The queue moved so slowly that, when we reached the front, the shop had already closed; a notice on the locked door said it had shut at six.
- The sun was setting as we approached the coast, and its lower edge was still visible above the sea.