Simple Past
Past Progressive
Simple Past and /or Past Progressive
100
He _____ (wake up) and ______ (look) at his watch.
woke up /looked
100
- While Tom ________ (read), Amely __________ (watch) a documentary on TV.
was reading /was watching
100
- Nobody ______ (listen) while the teacher __________ (explain) the tenses.
was listening / was explaining
200
"Marvin came home, switched on the computer and checked
his emails."
What kind of actions do these verbs express?
actions happening one after another (Simple Past)
200
- While we ______ (do) a sight-seeing tour, our friends ______ (lie) on the beach.
were doing / were lying
200
Which of the following verbs is usually only used in Simple Past (not in the progressive form)?
do
cost
go
swim
cost
300
When I _____ (be) on my way home, I ______ (see) an accident.
was / saw
300
________ she (sleep) when he came home?
Was sleeping
300
When I _______ (do) the washing-up, I _____ (break) a plate.
was doing / broke
In the course of one action, another action suddenly happened
400
____ you (hear) anything suspicious?
Did you hear anything suspicious?
400
Past Progressive can be used in the following situations:
a. to describe what someone was doing at a particular time
b. to express interrupted action in the past
c. to describe parallel actions in the past
d. all of the above
d
400
I ______ (have) dinner when I suddenly ______ (hear) a loud bang.
was having / heard
In the course of one action (was having), another action suddenly happened.
500
I ________ (understand) what they _______ (talk) about.
did not understand / were talking