I. Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Continuous). 1. While Tom (read) ____________, Amely (watch) ____________a documentary on TV. 2. Marvin (come) ____________ home, (switch) ____________on the computer and (check) ____________his emails. 3. The thief (sneak) ____________into the house, (steal) ____________the jewels and (leave) ____________ without a trace. 4. Nobody (listen) ____________while the teacher (explain) ____________the tenses. 5. While we (do) ____________a sight-seeing tour, our friends (lie) ____________on the beach. 6. He (wake) ____________up and (look) ____________at his watch. 7. The receptionist (welcome) ____________the guests and (ask) ____________them to fill in the form. 8. The car (break) ____________down and we (have) ____________to walk home. 9. The boys (swim) ____________while the girls (sunbathe) ____________. 10. My father (come) ____________in, (look) ____________around and (tell) ____________me to tidy up my room. 11. As long as one group (prepare) ____________dinner, the others (collect) ____________wood for their campfire. 12. While the parents (have) ____________breakfast, their children (run) ____________about. 13. Martha (turn) ____________off the lights and (go) ____________to bed. 14. We (wait) ____________for Jane, when suddenly Louis (come) ____________around the corner. 15. I (cycle) ____________through the park, when I (hear) ____________a strange noise. 16. He (pass) ____________her a message when the teacher (look / not) ____________. 17. I (fall) ____________asleep while I (watch) ____________TV last night. 18. When Mike and Jane (paint) ____________the walls, their dog (knock) ____________over the paint pot. 19. Tom (break) ____________his leg when he (play) ____________frisbee. 20. The phone (ring) ____________when I (sit) ____________on the toilet. 21. I (jog) ____________in the park, when two squirrels (cross) ____________my way. 22. Robert (fall) ____________off the ladder when he (pick) ____________cherries. 23. Archimedes (discover) ____________the theory of buoyancy while he (take) ____________a bath. 24. When we (travel) ____________around Ireland, we (meet) ____________some very nice people. 25. While she (speak) ____________on the phone, the milk (boil) ____________over. 26. When I (leave) ____________the house this morning, the sun (shine) ____________. 27. Caroline (burn) ____________her hand when she (iron) ____________her clothes. 28. Two days ago, a murder (happen) ____________in Market Street at about seven pm. 29. Yesterday, Sherlock Holmes (arrive) ____________at the crime scene to investigate. 30. He (ask) ____________on of the tenants in the house. 31. »What (do / you) ____________yesterday at seven?« 32. »I (watch) ____________a football match on TV.« 33. » (be) ____________you alone?« 34. »Yes, I (be) ____________.« 35. » (hear / you) ____________anything suspicious?« 36. »Yes, about seven o'clock, two people (argue) ____________in the hallway. But the football match (be) ____________so interesting. So I just (turn) ____________up the telly and then (hear / not) ____________anything anymore.« 37. A: »What (do / you) ____________yesterday at 8 pm?« 38. B: »I (sit) ____________in the pub with Sam. Why?« 39. A: »I (drive) ____________to the sports centre at that time to play squash with a few friends. As we only three players, I (try) ____________to ring you to ask if you would like to come as well. But I (reach / not) ____________you at home.« 40. B: »Why (ring / not / you) ____________my mobile?« 41. A: »I actually (want) ____________to ring your mobile, but by accident I (dial) ____________William's number. He (do / not) ____________anything special at that moment and really (like) ____________the idea of playing squash with us.« 42. When I (do) ____________the washing-up, I (break) ____________a plate. 43. While Tom (play) ____________the piano, his mother (do) ____________the washing-up. 44. He (drink) ____________some juice and then he (eat) ____________a few chips. 45. I (have) ____________dinner when I suddenly (hear) ____________a loud bang. 46. When my father (work) ____________in the garden, an old friend (pass) ____________by to see him. 47. She (go) ____________to school, (take) ____________out her textbook and (begin) vto learn. 48. When it (start) ____________to rain, our dog (want) ____________to come inside. 49. When Jane (do) ____________a language course in Ireland, she (visit) ____________Blarney Castle. 50. When I (be) ____________on my way home, I (see) ____________an accident. 51. I (not / understand) what they (talk) ____________ about. 52. When I (get) ____________up yesterday, the sun (shine) ____________. 53. It (is) ____________a beautiful morning. 54. So I (decide) ____________to cycle around a little. 55. I (go) ____________to the shed and (take) ____________out my bike. 56. While I (cycle) ____________past some villages, I (see) ____________some people in their gardens. 57. One man (mow) ____________the grass while his wife (pick) ____________strawberries. 58. After one hour of cycling in sunshine, a big fat raincloud suddenly (appear) ____________and it (start) ____________to rain. 59. Luckily, a farmer (notice) ____________me and (tell) ____________me to come in. 60. While it (rain) ____________outside, I (sit) ____________in the farmer's house. 61. After a while, the sun (come) ____________out again. 62. I (thank) ____________the farmer for his hospitality and (move) ____________on. Form Simple Past Past Progressive irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs I spoke regular verbs: verb + ed I worked past form of 'be' + ing form of verb I was speaking you were speaking he / she / it was speaking we were speaking they were speaking Exceptions Exceptions when adding 'ed' : when the final letter is e, only add d. Example: love - loved after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled Example: admit - admitted final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English) Example: travel - travelled after a consonant, final y becomes i. (but: not after a vowel) Example: worry - he worried but: play - he played Exceptions when adding 'ing' : silent e is dropped (but: does not apply for Example: come - coming but: agree - agreeing after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled Example: sit - sitting final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English) Example: travel - travelling final ie becomes y. Example: lie - lying Use After another or at the same time? Do you want to express that the actions in the past happened one after another or at the same time? Simple Past Past Progressive after another She came home, switched on the computer and checked her e-mails. at the same time Simon was playing on the computer while his brother was watchin TV. New action or already in progress? If you want to express that a new action happened in the middle of another action, you need both tenses: Simple Past the new action and Past Progressive for the action already in progress. Simple Past Past Progressive new action My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a meeting.) action already in progress While I was sitting in a meeting, (my mobile suddenly rang.) Only mentioning or emphasising progress? Do you just want to mention that an action took place in the past (also used for short actions)? Or do you want to put emphasis on the progress, e.g. that an action was taking place at a certain time? Simple Past Past Progressive just mentioning Colin played football yesterday. emphasising progress Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing football. Certain Verbs The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Past (not in the progressive form). state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit Example: We were on holiday. possession: belong, have Example: Sam had a cat. senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch Example: He felt the cold. feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish Example: Jane loved pizza. brain work: believe, know, think, understand Example: I did not understand him. introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say Example: “I am watching TV,“ he said. Signal words Simple Past Past Progressive first then If-Satz Typ II (If I talked, …) when while as long as