Past Tenses Quiz

Listen to this sentence: "While I ______ (walk) to school, I ______ (see) a dog." What verb forms correctly complete the sentence?

• was walking / saw

• walked / was seeing

• walked / saw

Explain briefly how you can identify when to use the Past Continuous in a sentence:

What action is usually in Past Continuous in sentences like this? "She was cooking when the phone rang."

• The longer or ongoing action

• The shorter or sudden action

• None of the two

Read this short text: "It was raining when we arrived at the park. We waited until the rain stopped, then we played football." How many verbs in Past Simple do you find? Write the verbs.

Write a sentence using Past Continuous and Past Simple to describe an accident or unexpected event:

Choose the most appropriate sentence to describe a past event:

• I was studying when my friend called me.

• I study when my friend was calling me.

• I studied when my friend calls me.

Complete the sentence: "While we ______ (have) dinner, the lights ______ (go) out."

Which of these sentences is incorrect?

• She was reading while he was cooking.

• He cooked dinner when I was working.

• I was sleeping when the alarm rang.

Imagine something unexpected happened yesterday while you were doing your homework. Write three sentences to describe the situation using Past Simple and Past Continuous.

Which question is in the correct verb tense?

• What were you doing when it started to rain?

• What did you doing when it was starting to rain?

• What do you do when it started to rain?