Past Simple or Continuous
Past Simple/Continuous/Perfect
Past Simple or Past Perfect
Past simple or Past Perfect
Past Perfect Continuous or Past Simple
Used to/would
100

Danny could never agree with Fred. They ______ (always/argue)

were always arguing



100

I _____ (not talk) on the phone when you arrived

wasn't talking

100

I ______ (meet) him before he _____ (become) famous.

I´d met, became

100

We ___ already _____ (eat) when John ______ (come) home.

We had already eaten when John came home.

100

I____(drive) on the highway for miles when I ______(realize) I was on the wrong one!

I´d been driving, realized

100

My parents were real morning birds. They _______ (wake up) every morning before the sunrise.

My parents were real morning birds. They would wake up (wake up) every morning before the sunrise.

200

While George ______ (clean) his room, his mother ______ (cook) dinner.

was cleaning / was cooking 



200

He ______ (not meet) his girlfriend while he ______(live) in London

didn't meet / was living

200

We ______ (see) the movie before, so we __________(watch) a comedy show instead.

had seen, watched

200

When I ______(get) to the airport I discovered that I ________ (leave) my passport.

When I got to the airport I discovered I had left my passport.

200

I _____ (write) my essay for an hour when I ______ (decide) to take a break.

I´d been writing , decided

200

When I was small, I ________ (think) that Santa was real.

When I was small, I used to (think) that Santa was real.

300

The children ______ (leave) their lunch at home every day last week

left

300

I ____ (not date) my friend's girlfriend while he ____ (recover) in hospital

wasn't dating / was recovering

300

When I opened the document, I ______(see) that I ________ (forget) to save yesterday’s work!

saw, I´d forgotten

300

I _______ (open) my handbag to find that I _________ (leave) my credit card.

I opened my handbag to find that I had left my credit card.

300

I was disappointed the show was cancelled – I _____ (look) forward to it for weeks.

I’d been looking

300

We __________ (spend) much time in the old factory before they ________ (tear) it down.

We used to spend much time in the old factory before they tore it down.

400

We ______ (talk) about the movie while we ______ (walk) home

were talking / were walking

400

The bus ________ (come) as soon as I got to the bus stop.

came

400

He ______ (live) here for three years by the time we (meet).

had lived

met

400

I ________ (know) my husband for three years when we ________ (get) married.

I had known my husband for three years when we got married.

400

Sylvia ______(swim) so her hair was wet.

had been swimming

400

When we ______ (live) by the river, we _______ (wave) at the boats as they ___________ (pass) by.

When we lived by the river, we used to/would wave at the boats as they were passing by.

500

Every day I ________ (see) her I ______ (love) her more and more.

saw / loved

500

He ________(not be)  to Cape Town before 1997.

hadn't been

500

I couldn't see anything as I (lose) my glasses.

I had lost

500

First I tidied the flat, then I _____(sit) down and had a cup of coffee.

First I tidied the flat, then I sat down and had a cup of coffee.

500

I _______ (go) to the doctor’s because I_____(sleep) badly.

went, I´d been sleeping

500

He ________ (walk) to work every morning before he _______ (be injured) in the accident and _______ (spend) the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

He used to/would walk to work every morning before he had been injured in the accident and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.