Past simple vs Past continuous – used to/would
42
4
Put a (
✓
) next to the sentences where
used
to + main verb
can replace the
past simple
.
1
Hayley
read
a lot of books when she was a
child.
✓
(used to read)
2
An avalanche
occurred
in the Alps last
night. .....................
3
They
went
skiing every winter when they
were younger. .....................
4
The river
flooded
in 2011. .....................
5
I
emailed
Ben three times last week.
.....................
6
We
had
a caravan ten years ago.
.....................
11
Three years ago, Georgina was at school.
Now she goes to college. Use the phrases
to write and answer questions about her,
as in the example.
12
1
Did Georgina use to live with her friends?
No, she didn’t. She used to live with her
parents
.
2
................................................................
................................................................
3
................................................................
................................................................
4
................................................................
................................................................
5
................................................................
................................................................
Fill in the gaps using the verb in brackets in
the
past simple
or the
past continuous
.
1
A: Who
was playing
(play)
music at
midnight last night?
B: It was Alex. He ..................................
(wake)
me up!
2
A: ...........................................
(you/hear)
the sirens yesterday evening?
B Yes, I ....................................
(take)
the
rubbish out at about 7:30 when I
...................................
(notice)
a police
car arrive at the Masons’ house.
3
A: I .................................
(not/see)
Alison
and Jo in Science class this morning. Do
you know where they are?
B: Yes, Jo ..................................
(call)
me
five minutes ago. They .........................
(come)
to college on the 93 bus when
the car in front of them .........................
(crash)
. When I ...................................
(speak)
to Jo, they .............................
(drive)
to the police station to describe
what happened.
4
A: .....................................
(Steve/do)
his
homework while you .............................
(make)
dinner?
B: No, he ................................
(help)
me.
He ...........................................
(do)
his
homework afterwards.
5
A: Why ......................................
(you/be)
late for class today?
B: Well, I .............................
(leave)
home
at 8:15, but I ........................................
(forget)
my phone, so I ..................
(go)
back to get it and I .............................
(miss)
my bus.
14
Choose the correct item.
1
Emma
was tidying/tidied
the house while
her husband
fixed/was fixing
the car.
2
We
didn’t still do/weren’t still doing
our test
when the fire alarm
went off/was going off
.
3
It was a lovely day. The sun
shone/was
shining
and we
sat/were sitting
in the
garden.
4
Did you live/Were you living
in Spain
when you were a child?
5
Frank
kissed/was kissing
his children
goodnight,
was closing/closed
the bedroom
door and
went/was going
downstairs.
6
They
didn’t travel/weren’t travelling
abroad last summer.
13
• live with friends
• drive a car
• have a laptop
• play piano in free
time
• work in a shop at
the weekends
• live with parents
• ride a bike
• have a desktop computer
• play computer games in free time
• go shopping at the weekends
NOW
THEN
