Past Continuous Exercises PDFSet 9: Past Simple vs Past Continuous: Mixed Practice
20 questions·15 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1.I ___ (meet) Sarah while I was shopping yesterday.
a) were meetingb) was meetingc) metd) meet
2.At 7 pm yesterday, we ___ (have) dinner with our grandparents.
a) hadb) was havingc) haved) were having
3.She ___ (not/hear) the doorbell because she was listening to loud music.
a) wasn't hearingb) don't hearc) didn't heard) weren't hearing
4.While Tom ___ (work), his colleagues were chatting in the break room.
a) workb) were workingc) was workingd) worked
5.The accident ___ (happen) while they were driving to the airport.
a) were happeningb) was happeningc) happend) happened
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.met
2.were having
3.didn't hear
4.was working
5.happened
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."met"(c)
Use Past Simple for a short, sudden action (meeting) that happened during a longer action (shopping).
2."were having"(d)
Use Past Continuous for an action in progress at a specific time (at 7 pm).
3."didn't hear"(c)
Use Past Simple for a completed action. 'Hear' is also a stative verb that's rarely used in continuous form.
4."was working"(c)
Use Past Continuous for parallel actions. Both working and chatting were happening at the same time.
5."happened"(d)
Use Past Simple for a sudden, completed event that occurred during a longer action.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
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