A. Complete the sentences with the Past continuous form of the verbs in brackets.

1. Yesterday at 6 p.m. we ____________ (have) dinner.

2. Harry ____________ (not listen) so he didn’t know how to do the exercise.

3. Kate ____________ (lie) on the beach and Anna ____________ (eat) an ice cream.

4. Tom and Peter ____________ (smile) and Nancy ____________ (take) a photo of them.

5. Why ____________ you and Zoe ____________ (argue)?

6. Hannah was annoyed because a man on the train ____________ (talk) loudly on his phone.

7. At 1 a.m. Fred ____________ still ____________ (chat) with his friends on Facebook.

8. My eyes were closed, but  I ____________ (not sleep).

 

B. Complete the text with the Past continuous form of the verbs below. 

carry    follow      hurry       leave      rain        

stand    wear         not wear

When I got off the coach in London, the weather was awful. It 1_________ and there was a cold wind. A short, fat man, who 2_________ a hat and 3 _________a small briefcase, got off after me. It was five o’clock and lots of people 4_________ work and 5_________ to catch the bus or the Underground. I 6_________ a raincoat so I went into a

         

C. Choose the correct tense to complete the sentences.

1. Tom looked at the weather outside: it was grey, but it didn’t rain / wasn’t raining.

2. You didn’t answer  when I phoned you this morning. What did you do / were you doing?

3. Mary switched off her computer, put on/ was putting on her coat and left / was leaving the office.

4. She closed the window because some children made / were making a lot of  noise outside.

5. When I told  my friends about the robbery, they  didn’t believe / weren’t believing me.

6. She didn’t hear the doorbell because she had / was having a shower.

 

D. Complete the sentences. Use the Past simple form of one verb and the Past continuous form of the other.

1. I ___________ (see) Henry as I ___________ (cycle) to the sports centre.

2. While we ___________ (prepare) the picnic, it ___________ (start) to rain.

3. All my friends ___________ (leave) the party when I ___________ (arrive).

4. As we ___________ (walk) by the river, we ___________ (hear) a shout.

5. We ___________ (not eat) very much while we ___________(stay) in that hotel.

6. I ___________ (drink) my dad’s coffee while he ___________ (not look).

7. She ___________(drop) her new phone as she ___________(put) it in her pocket.

8. I ___________(meet) a really interesting person while I ___________(wait) for the bus.

 

E. Complete the text with the Past simple or Past continuous form of the verbs in brackets.

 

In January 2014, a doctor from New Zealand 1__had__ (have) a frightening experience with a shark – but his calm reaction 2__________ (make) him  the star  of new reports around the world.

 

James Grant 3__________ (fish) with friends one Saturday when a shark attacked him. He 4__________ (not see) anything, but he 5__________ (feel) a sudden pain in his leg. At first, he thought that his friends 6__________ (play) a prank  on him. He 7__________ (turn) around – but nobody 8__________ (be) behind him. Then he 9__________ (realize) what 10__________ (come).

 

Luckily, James 11__________ (carry) a knife so he 12__________ (use) it to fight off the shark. Then he 13__________ (get) out off the water and 14__________ (look) at his leg. The bites were 5 cm long and they 15__________ (bleed) a lot. James 16__________ (clean) his leg. Then he and his friends 17__________ (go) to a nearby café! While they 18__________ (enjoy) a drink, somebody 19__________ (give) James a bandage because his leg  20__________ (bleed). He 21__________ (go) to hospital for some treatment, but on Monday he was back at work.

 

F. Circle the correct verb form in these sentences. Tick the box if  both forms are correct.

1. My friends agreed paying / to pay for my ticket. o

2. I don’t mind cycling / to cycle in the rain. o

3. I start learning / to learn the piano. o

4. Two men admitted stealing / to steal the painting. o

5. We end up staying / to stay at the hotel for a week instead of two nights.

6. Do you like going / to go for walks on the beach? o

7. I hate seeing / to see animals in pain. o

8. I don’t expect passing / to pass all my exams. o

9. She offered phoning / to phone me later.

 

G. Complete the text with the infinitive or –ing form of the verbs in brackets. Sometimes both are correct.

At the end of a long journey, most people prefer 1__to get__ (get) home and relax as soon as possible. They don’t fancy 2__________ (shop), but they don’t want 3__________ (arrive) home with nothing to eat. Now, travellers who pass through Gatwick Airport in London can avoid 4__________ (return) home on  an empty fridge by choosing 5__________ (visit) a virtual shop. There are no real products in the shop, only images on ten large screens. When you decide 6__________ (buy) something, you use your smartphone to scan it. You keep 7__________ (scan) items until you’ve found everything you need, then you pay. After that, you can spend a week or two 8__________(enjoy) your holiday. The shop promises 9__________ (deliver) your shopping soon after you get home. According to the retailer, the virtual shop is a perfect combination of traditional and online shopping. People enjoy 10__________ (look) around shops, but they also love 11__________ (shop) online because it’s so convenient.

 department store and bought  a cheap umbrella. When I came out, the short, fat man from the bus 7_________ outside the department store. 8_________ he _________ me?