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A2 · grammar

Past Simple vs Past Continuous Exercises (A2) — Free

Past simple vs past continuous: finished actions, or actions in progress

Use the past simple for finished actions, often one after another (I got up and went for a run). Use the past continuous (was/were + -ing) for an action that was in progress at a moment in the past (At 8 pm I was watching a film) and for background descriptions in a story. The two often appear together: the past continuous is the longer action and the past simple is the shorter one that interrupts it (I was having a shower when the phone rang). 'While' usually goes with the longer action; 'when' usually introduces the short one. Finished periods with 'for', like 'for three years', take the past simple.

  1. I (have) a shower when the phone rang.

  2. When I got home, my parents (sleep), so I went to bed quietly.

  3. Yesterday I (get) up at seven and (go) for a run.

  4. While she (cook), she (cut) her finger.

  5. At 8 o'clock last night I (watch) a film.

  6. What you (do) when the lights went out?

  7. I (not/see) the accident because I (look) at my phone.

  8. He (break) his leg last winter.

  9. The sun (shine) and the birds (sing) when we left the house.

  10. We (live) in Madrid for three years when I was a child.

  11. When the teacher (come) in, the students stopped talking.

  12. I (meet) my best friend while I (study) in London.

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