Past simple and continuous (2) – B1 English Grammar Test

1  Are these sentences correct (✓) or incorrect (✗)? Correct the mistakes you find.

1   He were mending the tap in the bathroom.

      ……✗ – was mending……

2   She wasn’t wearing glasses today.

      ……………………………………………….

3   At which school was Helen studying last year?

      ……………………………………………….

4   The girls were sew a cushion for school.

      ……………………………………………….

5   The teachers wasn’t helping the students very much.

      ……………………………………………….

6   Which city were you think about visiting?

      ……………………………………………….

2  Complete the conversation using the verbs in brackets in past continuous.

Penny:   ‘Listen, Mum. I don’t understand what the man in the shop 1……was talking…… (talk) about. I 2………………. (not try) to steal anything. My friend and I 3………………. (look) for material for our art project, but the owner thought we 4………………. (put) things in our pockets.

Mum:   ‘And what exactly 5………………. (you / look) for?’

Penny:   ‘Things for sewing a cushion. It’s a present for mother’s day. I 6………………. (hope) to keep it a secret. We 7………………. (not do) wrong, I promise.’

Mum:   ‘Don’t worry, dear.’

3  Put the verb in brackets in the past simple or continuous.

1   I didn’t hear the phone because I ……was fixing…… (fix) my bike.

2   Yesterday we made a cake and ………………. (decorate) it with chocolate buttons.

3   That shop is fantastic. They ………………. (repair) my mobile in two hours.

4   When we came out of the cinema, it ………………. (rain).

5   For our school project, we ………………. (design) and built a small table.

6   I liked the jeans, but finally I ………………. (decide) to buy a more expensive brand.

7   The first time I met him, he ………………. (wear) white sunglasses.

4  Add a word to each sentence to make it correct.

1   I want to play yesterday because I was tired.   ……I didn’t want… ………..

2   We studying in the library for two hours last Tuesday.   …………………………………

3   I couldn’t hear you because my sister playing music really loud.   …………………………………

4   They couldn’t fix the computer because they have the parts.   …………………………………

5   You didn’t understand because you listening to the instructions.   …………………………………

6   You watch anything good on TV last night?   …………………………………

5  Complete the text with the words below. Put the verbs in the correct form. There is one extra word.

Last year, our school 1……decided…… to raise money for a local charity by making some customised bags and selling them. 2……………. we drew some designs. Then we asked everyone in the school to choose their favourite. Later we 3……………. the winning design to a company that prints on bags, t-shirts, 4……………. you want. We 5……………. out in the canteen when the bags arrived in a big box. Wow! They looked great. But 6……………. we realised that the name of the charity was spelled wrong! Thankfully the printing company 7……………. it was their mistake. While we 8……………. for the new bags to arrive, they sent us some free t-shirts to apologise for the error. 9……………. the bags was easy – everybody wanted one – and the charity was very grateful to us for helping them.