Underline the correct tense

1. I saw Jim this morning. He ran/ was running for the bus.

2. Keri was angry. She had been waiting/was waiting for Sarah for two hours.

3. Andy was relieved to hear that he was passing/had passed the exam.

4. I was walking/had walked home when I saw Paul.

5. Brian learnt/had learnt how to spell his name at school today.

6. They hadn't visited/weren't visiting their grandparents for a long time.

7. I watched/was watching television when the telephone rang.

8. Jason had been thinking/had thought about his new car all day.

9. I bought the dress because I wanted/had wanted something special to wear to the party.

10. The little boy was crying because he had lost/was losing his mother.

11. Graham had been working/was working for the company for twenty years before he retired.

12. Pam opened/had opened the present and read the card.

13. Lucy wrote/had written a letter to her sister last night.

14. It had been raining/was raining all day and the roads were very wet.

15. Sue was smiling/had smiled as she was reading Mary's letter.

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct past tense.

1. They... were walking... (walk) in the park when the storm broke.

2. The man … (pay) for his new car in cash.

3. I … (already/eat) breakfast by the time the others woke up.

4. It … (snow) for three days when suddenly the sun came out.

5. Sam … (work) here for six years before he left to go to university.

6. Liz … (go) to the Bahamas for her holidays last year.

7. We … (watch) a film on TV when our guests arrived.

8. They … (already/see) the film twice at the cinema when she rented it on video.

9. The teacher … (teach) the children a song yesterday.

10. He … (sit) on the train at this time yesterday morning.

IN OTHER WORDS

Study these examples. The second sentence has a similar meaning to the first sentence.

1. When did they buy their tickets?

since How long is it since they bought their tickets?

ago How long ago did they buy their tickets?

2. She didn't begin cleaning until after all the guests had left.

before She waited until all the guests had left before she began cleaning.

3. We haven't seen Carol for two weeks.

time The last time we saw Carol was two weeks ago.

4. It's a long time since I ate out.

have I have not eaten out for a long time.

5. It was the first time they had flown by Concorde.

never They had never flown by Concorde before.