Past simple and past continuous – English Grammar Test for A2
Grammar » Grammar Test for A2 » Past simple and past continuous - English Grammar Test for A2
2 They ______ (watch) TV when the lights went out.
3 I ______ (see) him at the supermarket yesterday.
4 While she ______ (cook), the phone rang.
5 At 8 o’clock last night, I ______ (do) my homework.
6 He ______ (fall) while he was playing football.
7 We ______ (walk) to school when it started to rain.
8 She ______ (not/like) the film we saw yesterday.
9 I ______ (meet) John while I was waiting for the bus.
10 They ______ (play) football in the park yesterday afternoon.
11 When we arrived, they ______ (have) dinner.
12 While I ______ (sleep), somebody knocked at the door.
13 I ______ (lose) my keys yesterday evening.
14 While he ______ (read), the baby started to cry.
15 We ______ (stay) in Paris for two weeks last summer.
16 She ______ (listen) to music when her brother came home.
17 At 10 o’clock last night, we ______ (watch) a movie.
18 I ______ (not/finish) my homework before dinner.
19 He ______ (drive) too fast when the police stopped him.
20 They ______ (sit) in the garden when it started to rain.
21 She ______ (open) the window when a bird flew in.
22 While we ______ (play) tennis, it suddenly began to rain.
23 I ______ (forget) to take my umbrella yesterday.
24 He ______ (fix) his bike when I saw him.
25 While she ______ (take) a shower, the doorbell rang.
26 They ______ (arrive) late to the party yesterday.
27 I ______ (study) English when you called me.
28 While we ______ (have) lunch, the phone rang.
29 He ______ (not/go) to school last Friday.
30 The children ______ (play) in the park when it got dark.
Answer
1 was reading – Ongoing action interrupted by Past Simple.
2 were watching – Past Continuous for background action.
3 saw – Past Simple for a completed past event.
4 was cooking – Past Continuous interrupted by “rang”.
5 was doing – Ongoing action at a specific past time.
6 fell – Sudden completed action → Past Simple.
7 were walking – Ongoing background action interrupted.
8 didn’t like – Past Simple for completed opinion about the film.
9 met – Past Simple for single event.
10 played – Past Simple for a finished past event.
11 were having – Past Continuous describes action in progress.
12 was sleeping – Ongoing background action.
13 lost – Past Simple sudden event.
14 was reading – Past Continuous interrupted by crying.
15 stayed – Past Simple for a completed time period.
16 was listening – Ongoing background action.
17 were watching – Past Continuous at a specific past time.
18 didn’t finish – Completed negative statement in the past.
19 was driving – Ongoing action interrupted by Past Simple.
20 were sitting – Continuous background action.
21 was opening – Action in progress when another event happened.
22 were playing – Past Continuous for longer action interrupted.
23 forgot – Past Simple for a completed past event.
24 was fixing – Ongoing action when “I saw him”.
25 was taking – Ongoing action interrupted.
26 arrived – Past Simple for completed action.
27 was studying – Ongoing background action.
28 were having – Past Continuous interrupted by the phone.
29 didn’t go – Past Simple negative form.
30 were playing – Continuous background action when another happened.