Past Simple Or Past Progressive?

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| By Sarah Suzanne
Sarah Suzanne, English Language
Sarah is a lecturer in English language at the University of Bologna, specializing in ELT course design. She is also a freelance translator.
Quizzes Created: 5 | Total Attempts: 12,785
| Attempts: 916
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  • 1/10 Questions

    While I ____________________ to work a dog ran across the road.

    • Was driving
    • Drove
    • Was drove
    • Driving
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About This Quiz

This quiz assesses understanding of the past simple and past progressive tenses through practical sentence completion exercises. It helps learners distinguish between actions completed at a specific time and ongoing actions in the past, enhancing their grammatical precision and fluency in English.

Past Tenses Quizzes & Trivia

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  • 2. 

    I saw that during the exam the students __________________ .

    • Was copying

    • Copy

    • Were copying

    • Copyed

    Correct Answer
    A. Were copying
    Explanation
    During the exam, the students were copying. This is the correct answer because the verb "saw" is in the past tense, indicating that the action of seeing occurred in the past. Additionally, the word "students" is plural, so the verb should also be in the plural form "were copying" to agree with the subject.

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  • 3. 

    She ______________ to talk to a friend.

    • Stopped

    • Was stopping

    • Did stop

    • Were stopping

    Correct Answer
    A. Stopped
    Explanation
    The correct answer is "stopped" because it is the past tense form of the verb "stop." In the given sentence, the action of talking to a friend has already been completed in the past. Therefore, "stopped" is the appropriate verb form to indicate this.

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  • 4. 

    What ________________ at six o'clock this morning?

    • Were you doing

    • Did you doing

    • Do you do

    • Did you

    Correct Answer
    A. Were you doing
    Explanation
    The correct answer is "were you doing". This is the correct answer because the question is asking about an action that was happening in the past at a specific time (six o'clock this morning). The phrase "were you doing" is the correct past continuous tense form of the verb "do" to use in this context.

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  • 5. 

    I ________________ in England when I ______________ John.

    • Was living - was meeting

    • Lived - met

    • Was living - met

    • Lived - met

    Correct Answer
    A. Was living - met
    Explanation
    The correct answer is "was living - met". This is because the verb "was living" is in the past continuous tense, indicating an ongoing action in the past. The verb "met" is in the simple past tense, indicating a completed action in the past. This combination suggests that the speaker was in the process of living in England when they had the specific encounter with John.

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  • 6. 

    Elizabeth came into the room and ___________________ the door.

    • Has shut

    • Shut

    • Was shutting

    • Has closed

    Correct Answer
    A. Shut
    Explanation
    Elizabeth came into the room and shut the door.

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  • 7. 

    What _______________________ for breakfast this morning?

    • Were you having

    • Had you

    • Did you have

    • Was you having

    Correct Answer
    A. Did you have
    Explanation
    The correct answer is "did you have". This is because the question is asking about what the person had for breakfast this morning, and the phrase "did you have" is the correct way to form a question in the past tense.

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  • 8. 

    When she ____________________ the news she ________________ crying.

    • Was seeing - was starting

    • Saw - was starting

    • Saw - started

    • Was seeing - started

    Correct Answer
    A. Saw - started
    Explanation
    The correct answer is "saw - started". This is because the past tense "saw" indicates that she witnessed or became aware of the news at a specific point in the past. The verb "started" in the past tense indicates that she began crying immediately after learning the news.

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  • 9. 

    She _________________ some was fish and ______________ ill immediately.

    • Was eating - felt

    • Ate - felt

    • Was eating - was feeling

    • Was eating - was feeling

    Correct Answer
    A. Ate - felt
    Explanation
    The correct answer is "ate - felt" because the past tense form of "eat" is "ate" and it indicates a completed action. The word "felt" is the correct verb to describe the immediate consequence of eating the fish, indicating that the person became ill after eating it.

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  • 10. 

    When Osel Torres was 2 he ______________ to India.

    • Was went

    • Has gone

    • Was taken

    • Was gone

    Correct Answer
    A. Was taken
    Explanation
    When Osel Torres was 2, someone else took him to India. This implies that Osel did not go to India on his own, but rather someone else was responsible for taking him there. Therefore, the correct answer is "was taken".

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  • Current Version
  • Mar 15, 2023
    Quiz Edited by
    ProProfs Editorial Team
  • Nov 20, 2012
    Quiz Created by
    Sarah Suzanne
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