Fill in the blanks.
1He was on his hands and knees on the floor. He ............... for his contact lens.
Wrong!
Use "was looking" for an action in progress at a specific moment in the past.
2I was sad when I sold my car. I ............... it for a long time.
Wrong!
Use "had had" because owning the car happened before the later past action of selling it.
3We were very tired at the end of the journey. We ............... for more than 24 hours.
Wrong!
Use "had been traveling" for a long activity that continued up to a later past time.
4At first, he ............... some problems.
Wrong!
Use "had" for a finished situation in the past.
5She ............... long hair, but now she has short hair.
Wrong!
Use "used to have" for a past state that is no longer true now.
6What time ............... lunch yesterday?
Wrong!
Use "did you have" to ask about a completed action at a finished past time.
7............... difficulty finding our house yesterday?
Wrong!
Use "Did you have" to ask about a completed past experience with a finished time expression.
8I cannot get into the house. I ............... the key.
Wrong!
Use "don't have" because the problem is happening now.
9I couldn't get into the house. I ............... the key.
Wrong!
Use "didn't have" because the problem happened in the past.
10I couldn't read the letter. I ............... my glasses.
Wrong!
Use "didn't have" because the reason belongs to the same past situation.
11We couldn't visit the museum. We ............... enough time.
Wrong!
Use "didn't have" because the lack of time was in the past.
12I couldn't take any pictures. I ............... a camera.
Wrong!
Use "didn't have" because the speaker lacked a camera in that past situation.
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- He was on his hands and knees on the floor. He was looking for his contact lens.
- I was sad when I sold my car. I had had it for a long time.
- We were very tired at the end of the journey. We had been traveling for more than 24 hours.
- At first, he had some problems.
- She used to have long hair, but now she has short hair.
- What time did you have lunch yesterday?
- Did you have difficulty finding our house yesterday?
- I cannot get into the house. I don’t have the key.
- I couldn’t get into the house. I didn’t have the key.
- I couldn’t read the letter. I didn’t have my glasses.
- We couldn’t visit the museum. We didn’t have enough time.
- I couldn’t take any pictures. I didn’t have a camera.
