Past simple – past continuous – past perfect

♦ The past simple is used for actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past.

Last Monday, Lisa and her husband fed the children when he came home. (Her husband came home and then they fed the children together.)

♦ The past continuous is used for a past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it.

Last Tuesday, Lisa was feeding the children when her husband came home. (She was still feeding the children when her husband came home.)

♦ The past perfect is used for an action which happened before another past action.

Last Friday, Lisa had already fed the children when her husband came home. (She fed the children first. Her husband came home afterwards.)

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

1 A: Why was Tim so tired last night?

B: Oh, he... had been working... (work) hard all day.

2 A: I … (go) to the cinema last night.

B: Really? What … (you/see)?

3 A: Did you have enough to eat at the party?

B: Yes. Sarah … (make) a lot of food.

4 A: What (you/do) at eight o'clock last night?

B: I … (watch) television. Why?

5 A: Colin! Look at yourself! You are filthy!

B: I know. I … (repair) my motorbike.

6 A: I … (do) something really silly yesterday.

B: Really, what?

A: I … (get) up and … (set off) for work as usual. I … (drive) for an hour before I … (realise) it was Sunday.

7 A: I … (just/hear) some incredible news!

B: What?

A: Jason and Emily … (get) married last week in Las Vegas. Isn't that amazing?

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

A: What 1)... were you doing... (do) when I 2) … (call) at eight, Burt?

B: I 3) … (work) in the garden because the wind 4) … (blow down) the fence during the night.

A: Oh, 5) … (you/manage) to fix it?

B: Yes, I 6) … (do) it eventually, but it 7) … (be) very hard work. I 8) … (ask) my neighbour to help in the end. Why 9) … (you/call) me?

A: I 10) … (want) to tell you about the factory. It 11) … (close down) yesterday.

B: I know. The company 12) … (have) problems for a long time before they finally 13) … (decide) to close down the factory.

A: I 14) … (hope) they would change their minds about it, though. It 15) … (be) a part of the town for years.

B: Well, at least everyone who worked there 16) … (now/find) a new job. That's good news.