Past Simple- Past Continuous Exercise 1. Fill in the blanks with the Past Simple or the Past Continuous.
1. A few minutes later a young man … (to arrive) 2. But one fine morning as
she … in her room, someone … at the door. (to sit, to knock) 3. He … over to the window and … out. Rain … heavily on the grass. (to walk, to look, to fall) 4. And he … out of bed, and … a cold bath, and … himself, and … himself, and … himself in cold water because there was no time to wait for the hot. (to spring, to have, to wash, to dress, to shave) 5. Everybody … after her as she … (to look, to pass)
6. "You speak English very well", said Camilla. She … past him at Rober. (to look)
7. Watching her he had the feeling, that she … a part. (to play) 8. When he … in, she … in a big arm chair by the window. (to come, to sit) 9. He … something but I … him well. (to cry, not to hear) 10. I … into the kitchen. Tom … bread and butter, Mary … a cloth on a little table by the window. (to come, to cut, to put)
The action of the young man arriving happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "arrived".
2. But one fine morning as she was sitting in her room, someone knocked at the door.
The action of sitting happened continuously in the past, so we use the past continuous tense "was sitting". The action of knocking happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "knocked".
3. He walked over to the window and looked out. Rain was falling heavily on the grass.
The action of walking happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "walked". The action of looking happened continuously in the past, so we use the past continuous tense "was looking". The action of rain falling also happened continuously in the past, so we use the past continuous tense "was falling".
4. And he sprang out of bed, and had a cold bath, and washed himself, and dressed himself, and shaved himself in cold water because there was no time to wait for the hot.
All the actions in this sentence happened one after another in the past, so we use the past simple tense for each action.
5. Everybody looked after her as she passed.
The action of looking happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "looked". The action of passing happened continuously in the past, so we use the past continuous tense "was passing".
6. "You speak English very well", said Camilla. She looked past him at Rober.
The action of speaking happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "spoke". The action of looking happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "looked".
7. Watching her he had the feeling that she was playing a part.
The feeling of watching and the feeling of playing happened continuously in the past, so we use the past continuous tense "was watching" and "was playing".
8. When he came in, she was sitting in a big armchair by the window.
The action of coming in happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "came". The action of sitting happened continuously in the past, so we use the past continuous tense "was sitting".
9. He cried something but I didn't hear him well.
The action of crying happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "cried". The action of hearing not happening well also happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "didn't hear".
10. I came into the kitchen. Tom was cutting bread and butter, Mary was putting a cloth on a little table by the window.
The action of coming into the kitchen happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense "came". The actions of cutting and putting happened continuously in the past, so we use the past continuous tense "was cutting" and "was putting".