Put the verbs in brackets into Past Simple or Past Continuous.
1. We (to prepare) for the lessons yesterday. 2. We (to prepare) for the lessons at five o'clock yesterday. 3. He (to prepare) for the lessons from two till three yesterday. 4. He (to prepare) for the lessons the whole evening yesterday. 5. What you (to do) when I rang you up? 6. I (not to sleep) at nine o'clock yesterday. 7. What he (to do) yesterday? – He (to read) a book. 8. What he (to do) the whole evening yesterday? – He (to read) a book. 9. She (to sleep) when you came home? 10. My brother (not to play) tennis yesterday. He (to play) tennis the day before yesterday. 11. My sister (not to play) the piano at four o'clock yesterday. She (to play) the piano the whole evening. 12. When I came into the kitchen, mother (to cook). 13. She (to cook) the whole day yesterday. 14. We (to wash) the floor in our room yesterday. 15. We (to wash) the floor in our room from three till four yesterday.
Explanation: The verb "prepare" is in the base form and is used in the past simple tense to indicate an action that happened and was completed in the past.
2. We were preparing for the lessons at five o'clock yesterday.
Explanation: The verb "prepare" is in the past continuous tense to indicate an ongoing action in the past. The use of "were" and the -ing form of the verb indicate that the preparation was in progress at a specific time in the past.
3. He was preparing for the lessons from two till three yesterday.
Explanation: Similar to the previous sentence, the verb "prepare" is in the past continuous tense to show an ongoing action in the past. The use of "was" and the -ing form of the verb indicates that the preparation was taking place during a specific time frame.
4. He prepared for the lessons the whole evening yesterday.
Explanation: The verb "prepare" is in the past simple tense to indicate an action that took place and was completed in the past. In this sentence, the action of preparation lasted for the entire evening.
5. What were you doing when I rang you up?
Explanation: The verb "do" is in the past continuous tense to indicate an ongoing action in the past. The use of "were" and the -ing form of the verb indicates that the action was happening at the time of the phone call.
6. I wasn't sleeping at nine o'clock yesterday.
Explanation: The verb "sleep" is in the past continuous tense to show an ongoing action in the past. The use of "wasn't" and the -ing form of the verb indicates that the person was not in a state of sleep at a specific time in the past.
7. What was he doing yesterday? - He was reading a book.
Explanation: The verb "do" is in the past continuous tense to indicate an ongoing action in the past. The response "he was reading a book" indicates that the person was engaged in the action of reading during that time.
8. What was he doing the whole evening yesterday? - He was reading a book.
Explanation: Similar to the previous sentence, the verb "do" is in the past continuous tense, indicating an ongoing action. The response "he was reading a book" states that the person was reading throughout the entire evening.
9. Was she sleeping when you came home?
Explanation: The verb "sleep" is in the past continuous tense. The use of "was" and the -ing form of the verb indicates that the action of sleeping was happening at the specific time when the person arrived home.
10. My brother didn't play tennis yesterday. He played tennis the day before yesterday.
Explanation: The verb "play" is in the past simple tense to indicate an action that occurred and was completed in the past. The first sentence states that the brother did not play tennis on the specific day in question, while the second sentence states that he did play tennis on the day before.
11. My sister didn't play the piano at four o'clock yesterday. She played the piano the whole evening.
Explanation: Similar to the previous sentence, the verb "play" is in the past simple tense to indicate an action that took place and was completed in the past. The first sentence states that the sister did not play the piano at a specific time, while the second sentence states that she played the piano throughout the entire evening.
12. When I came into the kitchen, mother was cooking.
Explanation: The verb "cook" is in the past continuous tense to indicate an ongoing action in the past. The use of "was" and the -ing form of the verb indicates that the mother was in the process of cooking when the person entered the kitchen.
13. She was cooking the whole day yesterday.
Explanation: Similar to the previous sentence, the verb "cook" is in the past continuous tense to show an ongoing action in the past. The use of "was" and the -ing form of the verb indicates that the person was cooking for the entire day.
14. We washed the floor in our room yesterday.
Explanation: The verb "wash" is in the past simple tense to indicate an action that occurred and was completed in the past. The sentence states that they washed the floor in their room on the specific day mentioned.
15. We were washing the floor in our room from three till four yesterday.
Explanation: The verb "wash" is in the past continuous tense to indicate an ongoing action in the past. The use of "were" and the -ing form of the verb indicates that they were washing the floor in their room during a specific time period from three to four o'clock.