B I/ Complete the sentences with the words in brackets.
Use one verb in the past simple and one verb in either the past perfect
or past continuous.
1 Grandad _______________ (retire) after he _______________ (work) as a bus driver for thirty years.
2 Carrie _______________ (watch) TV when we _______________ (come) home.
3 I _______________ (not know) about the school art competition because I _______________ (not check) the noticeboard.
4 Lucy _______________ (walk) on the beach when she _______________ (find) some money.
5 Peter and Jess _______________ (not visit) America before their family _______________ (emigrate) there last year.
II/ Choose the correct answers to complete the sentences.
1 Danny went for a walk when
A he was finishing his homework. B he’d finished his homework.
2 Our football team weren’t happy after
A they’d lost the match. B they were losing the match.
3 We saw you in the street yesterday when
A you were riding a bike along Lanyon Road. B you had ridden a bike along Lanyon Road.
4 Sam watched the film and then
A he went to bed. B he was going to bed.
5 Sarah and Chi-Hung met and got engaged when they
A had both lived in Shanghai. B were both living in Shanghai.
III/ Complete the sentences. Use the Past Simple, Past Continuous or Past Perfect Simple.
1. They .................................... (get) to the airport as the plane was landing.
2. She wore the shoes she ..................................... (buy) the previous day.
3. I fell as I .................................... (run) for the bus.
4. What .................................... she .................................... (say) when he asked her to marry him?
5. When I was a student, I .................................... (not have) much money.
6. Why .................................... she still .................................... (work) at one o’clock in the morning?
7. I was happy to see her, because we .................................... (not see) each other for years.
8. By the time we got to the shop, a long queue .................................... already .................................... (form) outside.
IV/ Choose the correct answer.
1. I heard a knock at the front door so I (went / was going) to answer it.
2. At this time yesterday, I (wrote / was writing) an essay.
3. The football season (began / was beginning) a month ago.
4. She (had graduated / graduated) from school in 2001.
5. We entered the house quietly because everyone (was sleeping / had slept).
6. By the time we (got / had got) to the cinema, the film had already started.
7. The children (were playing / played) in the garden while their parents were watching them.
8. They (had left / left) many hours before we arrived.
V/ Complete the passage with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
Until a few years ago, no one 1. . .................................... (hear) of Harry Potter, the young wizard and hero of the
children’s book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The writer, J K Rowling, 2. ....................................
(already / write) several stories and books, but this was the first book that was published. She
3. .................................... (get) the idea for the story of a wizard at magic school while she
4. .................................... (travel) on a train to London. By the time the train 5. .................................... (reach)
King’s Cross station, she 6. .................................... (invent) most of the characters. When the book was published
in 1997, no one 7. .................................... (imagine) it would be such a tremendous success, but it quickly
8. .................................... (become) a bestseller. While millions of young readers in many countries
9. .................................... (enjoy) her first Harry Potter book, J K Rowling 10. .................................... (think) of
ideas for the next book in this incredibly popular series.
