Fill in the blanks with a past simple or past progressive tense form.
1I ............... while I was watching TV.
Wrong!
Use "fell asleep" for the short completed action that happened during the longer action.
2I ............... dinner when you called at 9 o'clock yesterday evening, so I didn't answer the phone.
Wrong!
Use "was having" for an action in progress at a specific time in the past, when another action interrupted it.
3Someone ............... while I was having a shower.
Wrong!
Use "called" for the short action that interrupted the longer background action.
4The radio was on, but nobody ............... to it.
Wrong!
Use the past progressive "was listening" to describe what was (or was not) in progress at that time: the radio was on, but no one was in the middle of listening to it.
5I said "Hi" when I ............... Susie at the party.
Wrong!
Use "met" for a completed event at a particular time in the past.
6She ............... even look at me.
Wrong!
Use "didn't" to make a negative past simple sentence with the base verb "look".
7I ............... James at the airport a few days ago. He was going to Vienna.
Wrong!
Use "met" for a completed event in the past.
8I ............... a chat with Susie while we were waiting for the train.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
Use "had" for a completed action that happened while the waiting was in progress, or "was having" for two actions in progress at the same time.
9I ............... for the bus when I saw Rahul driving down the road.
Wrong!
Use "was waiting" for the background action in progress when another event happened.
10I was in great difficulty. I ............... what to do.
Wrong!
Use "didn't know" for a past state at that time.
11I ............... down the street when I noticed that somebody was following me.
Wrong!
Use "was walking" for the background action in progress when the speaker noticed something.
12He dropped the plate, but luckily it ...............
Wrong!
Use "didn't break" for the completed negative result after the plate was dropped.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- I fell asleep while I was watching TV.
- I was having dinner when you called at 9 o’clock yesterday evening, so I didn’t answer the phone.
- Someone called while I was having a shower.
- The radio was on, but nobody was listening to it.
- I said “Hi” when I met Susie at the party.
- She didn’t even look at me.
- I met James at the airport a few days ago. He was going to Vienna.
- I had / was having a chat with Susie while we were waiting for the train.
- I was waiting for the bus when I saw Rahul driving down the road.
- I was in great difficulty. I didn’t know what to do.
- I was walking down the street when I noticed that somebody was following me.
- He dropped the plate, but luckily it didn’t break.