Past Simple or Continuous?
At 4 pm last Tuesday I __________ (work) in the office.
was working
I _____ (not talk) on the phone when you arrived.
wasn't talking
__________ they __________ (start) the game on time?
had ..... started
Past perfect simple emphasises the completion of the activity which is a single point in time
We ___ already _____ (eat) when John ______ (come) home.
We had already eaten when John came home.
We use the ___________ to talk about one thing or a sequence of things that took place in the past and are finished.
past simple
George ______ (clean) his room while his mother ______ (cook) dinner.
was cleaning / was cooking
He ______ (not meet) his girlfriend while he ______(live) in London.
didn't meet / was living
I __________ (wait) an hour for the bus when it finally arrived!
had been waiting
Past perfect continuous emphasises a continuing or ongoing action. Irritation is included here too.
When I ______(get) to the airport I discovered that I ________ (forget) my passport.
When I got to the airport I discovered I had forgotten my passport.
We use the _____________ for actions in progress that took place in the past and are finished.
Past continuous
The children ______ (forget) their lunch at home every day last week.
forgot
I ____ (not date) my friend's girlfriend while he ____ (recover) in hospital.
wasn't dating / was recovering
My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I __________ ever __________ . (have)
had had
Past Perfect Simple emphasises the result (worst day) of a long period in the past which is finished.
I _______ (open) my handbag to find that I _________ (forget) my credit card.
I opened my handbag to find that I had forgotten my credit card.
We use the _____________ to show that an event or action in the past was still continuing from one point in the past to another point in the past.
past perfect continuous
He______ (drink) beer when he ______ (start) feeling sick.
was drinking/ started
It ____ (not rain) yesterday morning so we decided to hang out the laundry.
didn't rain
We __________ (try) to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
had been trying
The Past Perfect Continuous talks about an action that continued for a period of time before another action or situation in the past took place.
I ________ (know) my husband for three years before we ________ (get) married.
I had known my husband for three years before we got married.
We often use the _________ and ___________ together when one action interrupts another in the past.
past simple and past continuous
Every time I ________ (see) her I ______ (love) her more and more.
saw / loved
He ________(not go) to any museums when he _____ (visit) London last week.
didn't go / visited
They __________ (paint) the room for nearly an hour when they realized they __________ (use) the wrong colour.
had been painting - had been using
The Past Perfect Continuous talks about an action that continued for a period of time before another action or situation in the past took place.
By the time I ___________(arrive) at the station, the train _______________ (leave)
By the time I arrived at the station, the train had left.
We use the _________with the _________ together in a sentence to describe something that happened before something else in the past.
past perfect / past simple