Sort each sentence — is it Past Continuous (an action that was IN PROGRESS at a moment in the past) or Simple Past (a completed action)?
Sort it!
1I studied for two hours last night.
2She cooked a delicious dinner for the guests.
3She was cooking dinner when the guests arrived.
4I was studying when the lights went out.
5The rain was falling steadily all afternoon.
6The children played in the garden yesterday.
7The rain stopped just before evening.
8The children were playing in the garden at sunset.
Past Continuous
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Simple Past
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2
Rewrite each sentence in the Past Continuous tense (was/were + verb+-ing) to show it was happening at that moment. Write the full sentence.
Rewrite it!
1.The farmer waters his fields. (that whole morning)
2.The birds build a nest. (all through last week)
3.The mechanic repairs the old scooter. (at 5 o'clock yesterday)
4.The children sleep soundly. (when the storm began)
5.We wait outside the theatre. (at that time)
3
Join each pair of actions into ONE sentence using 'when' — the first action was already IN PROGRESS (Past Continuous) when the second, shorter action interrupted it (Simple Past). Write the full sentence.
Rewrite it!
1.She was crossing the road. A cyclist rang his bell.
2.We were watching the match. The electricity failed.
3.The baby was sleeping peacefully. A loud thunderclap woke her.
4.The class was writing the test. The fire alarm went off.
