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Past tenses Test

  • / Exercise 1.

    Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets. Use Past Simple, Past Continuous, or Past Perfect.
    1. 1.
      While I
      to school yesterday, I
      a friend from primary school. (walk / see)
    2. 2.
      By the time we
      at the cinema, the movie
      . (arrive / already start)
    3. 3.
      She
      in her room when the phone
      . (study / ring).
    4. 4.
      After they
      dinner, they
      for a walk by the lake. (finish / go)
    5. 5.
      I
      the news until you
      me yesterday. (not hear / tell)
    6. 6.
      He
      in the garden when it
      to rain. (work / start)
    7. 7.
      They
      in that town for five years before they
      to the city. (live / move)
    8. 8.
      As soon as the teacher
      the room, the students
      talking. (enter / stop)
    9. 9.
      While I
      the attic, my sister
      a book. (clean / read)
    10. 10.
      She
      nervous because she
      before. (feel / never fly)
    11. 11.
      When they
      last year, they instantly
      friends. (meet / become)
    12. 12.
      I
      him yesterday while he
      at the mall. (see / shop)
    13. 13.
      After they
      dinner, they
      to take a walk. (finish / decide)
    14. 14.
      She
      to Paris before she
      there last year. (never be / move)
    15. 15.
      She
      hard and then
      her exam. (study / pass)

  • / Exercise 2.

    Choose the correct past tense form for each sentence.
    1. 1.
      As soon as he
      at the airport, he called his parents.
    2. 2.
      We
      each other for five years before we got married.
    3. 3.
      While we
      to the beach, we saw an accident on the road.
    4. 4.
      She
      her husband at a concert ten years ago.
    5. 5.
      By the time the guests
      the host had prepared everything.
    6. 6.
      After I
      my homework, I watched some TV.
    7. 7.
      She
      when the alarm clock went off.
    8. 8.
      He
      his leg while he was skiing.
    9. 9.
      He
      a teacher for 10 years before he decided to change careers.
    10. 10.
      They
      for the meeting all morning.

  • / Exercise 3.

    Identify and correct the mistakes in the sentences. Write the full sentence.
    1. 1.
      When I was a child, I had went to the beach every summer.
    2. 2.
      She was crying because she had loose her favorite necklace.
    3. 3.
      After he was finishing his homework, he went outside to play.
    4. 4.
      They didn’t went to the concert because they had heard the band was not good.
    5. 5.
      By the time we reached the hotel, it has already been dark.
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