Angkor Khemara University General English

Unit 3: Good news, bad news!

Grammar Practice
I. Past Simple
A. Complete the sentences using the past simple form and the words in brackets.
1-We ______________ (go) on holiday in Siem Reap last year.
2-I _______________ (take) a taxi from the airport to the city centre.
3-We ________________ (walk) to the park and then we _____________ (play) tennis.
4-A: _________________________ (be / your meal) good?
B: No, it _________________ (not / be). I ____________________ (not / like) the vegetables.
5-The man in the shop ______________ (say) something to the woman, but she ___________________
(not / hear) him.
6-I ________________ (ring) the doorbell and a woman ______________ (open) the door.
7-I ________________ (write) a letter to a friend, and then I ________________ (post) it.
8-He __________________ (not / go) to school last Tuesday. He ______________ (be) ill.
A. Make sentences using the correct form of the past simple.
1-(When / you / finish / your exams?)____________________________________________________
2-( I / wait / for an hour, but he / not / phone) _____________________________________________
3-( you / watch / news on TV last night?)___________________________________________
4-(He / ask / me / a question, but I / not / know / the answer)___________________________________
5-(What / you / say? / I / not / hear / you)___________________________________________________
B. Past Continuous
Complete the sentences by putting the verb in brackets into the past continuous.
1-It _____________________ (snow) when I left home this morning.
2-I tried to explain my problem to her, but she ____________________________ (not listen)
3-He ______________________ (talk) on the phone when I arrived.
4-A lot of people ________________________ (wait) for the 7:30 bus last night.
5-I __________________________ (live) in London when I met them.
6-I nearly had an accident this morning. A car _________________________ (come) towards me, but i
moved quickly out of the way.
7-It was a sunny afternoon and people ________________________ (sit) on the grass in the park.
8-At the end of the first half of the game, they _________________________ (win).
9-Fortunately, I ______________________ (not drive) too fast when the child walked into the road.
10- Which hotel _______________________ (you / stay) in when you lost your passport?
III. Past Simple and Continuous.
A. Read each numbered sentence. Write T (True) or F (False) for the statement that follows.
1- When our friends arrived, we ate lunch.
_________ Our friends arrived before lunch.
2- While we were talking on the phone, I was driving to school.
_________ We finished the conversation. Then I drove to school.
3- Lori heard about the accident while she was driving to work.
_________ Lori knew about the accident by the time she got to work.
4- When they exited the freeway, it started to rain.
_________ It was raining while they were on the freeway.
5- When Peter got to school, his class was taking a test.
New Headway Pre-Intermediate 5th Edition Taught by Mr NGETH Borin
Angkor Khemara University General English
_________ Peter was late to class.
B. Fill in the gaps with the past simple or past continuous of the verbs in brackets.
1- My parents _______________ (get) to know each other when they ________________ (study) at
university.
2- Doctor Fisher ________________ (travel) widely as a young man and ___________________ (always
keep) a diary.
3- I _________________ (see) my brother and his girlfriend when I __________________ (wait) for the bus,
but they _____________________ (not see) me.
4- Lily ________________ (fill) in the application form and __________________ (give) it to the
receptionist.
5- While I ___________________ (work) in Rome, I __________________ (meet) a girl who
_____________ (look) just like your sister.
6- Simon ___________________ (finish) with his girlfriend because she _____________________ (always
cancel) dates at the last moment.
7- Anna’s feeling depressed because she ____________________ (hope) for a pay rise last week, but she
_____________________ (not get) one.
8- Yesterday David ____________________ (cross) a street when a truck __________________ (turn) the
corner very fast and almost ____________________ (hit) him.
9- During the study period in class yesterday, it _________________ (be) hard for me to concentrate because
the student next to me ___________________ (hum).
10- Last Monday while we ____________________________________ (watch, in our living room) an
exciting game on television, the electricity _____________ (go) out. So we _______________ (go) outside,
_____________ (get) into the car, ________________ (turn) on the radio, and _______________ (listen) to
the rest of the game. The next day, the car battery ________________ (be) dead.
C. Underline the correct verb form.
1 She worked / was working quietly at her desk when suddenly the door opened / was opening and her daughter
rushed / was rushing in.
2 He stood / was standing up, walked / was walking across the room, and closed / was closing the window.
3 A strange man walked / was walking into the room. He wore / was wearing red trousers and a pink shirt.
4 Didn’t you meet / Weren’t you meeting your wife while you worked / was working in Chile?
5 I saw / was seeing you in the park yesterday. You sat / were sitting on a bench with your arm round Tom.
6 As soon as I walked / was walking into the room, he handed / was handing me the letter.
7 His father was really angry with him because he listened / was listening to music while he did / was doing
his homework.
8 Why didn’t they visit / weren’t they visiting me while they stayed / were staying in Kampot?
9 What did you write / were you writing when your computer crashed / was crashing?
10 As he passed / was passing the bank, a man in a mask knocked / was knocking him onto the ground.

New Headway Pre-Intermediate 5th Edition Taught by Mr NGETH Borin