Fill in the blanks.
1When I heard the doorbell, I ............... up.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "got" for the completed action that happened when the doorbell rang.
2I ..............., so I didn't see John walking in.
Wrong!
Use the past progressive "was reading" for an action in progress at that time.
3When the supervisor arrived, the workers ............... lunch.
Wrong!
Use the past progressive "were having" for an action in progress when the supervisor arrived.
4We decided to return because it ............... dark, and soon we wouldn't be able to see the path.
Wrong!
Use the past progressive "was getting" for a gradual change happening at that time; it was not fully dark yet.
5The Industrial Revolution ............... numerous people to move from villages to urban areas.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "encouraged" for a completed historical fact.
6I couldn't talk to her because she ...............
Wrong!
Use the past progressive "was working" for the activity that was in progress then.
7By the time we ...............
Wrong!
Use "reached the theater, the show had begun" because the show started before we arrived.
8He couldn't play in the final because he ............... his leg.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
The past perfect "had injured" stresses that the injury happened before the final; the simple past "injured" is also correct because "because" already makes the order clear. "Was injuring" does not fit a completed event.
9The United Nations ............... in 1945.
Wrong!
Use the passive simple past "was founded" for an organization that was established in 1945.
10The lights went out when I ...............
Wrong!
Use the past progressive "was sewing" for the action in progress when the lights went out.
11What ............... when he got into a fight with his neighbor?
Wrong!
Use the past progressive question form "was he thinking" to ask about his thought process at that moment.
12The man was tilling his land when a snake ............... him.
Wrong!
Use the simple past "bit" for the sudden action that interrupted the longer action.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- When I heard the doorbell, I got up.
- I was reading, so I didn’t see John walking in.
- When the supervisor arrived, the workers were having lunch.
- We decided to return because it was getting dark, and soon we wouldn’t be able to see the path.
- The Industrial Revolution encouraged numerous people to move from villages to urban areas.
- I couldn’t talk to her because she was working.
- By the time we reached the theater, the show had begun.
- He couldn’t play in the final because he injured / had injured his leg.
- The United Nations was founded in 1945.
- The lights went out when I was sewing.
- What was he thinking when he got into a fight with his neighbor?
- The man was tilling his land when a snake bit him.