The simple past is used to talk about a finished action or situation in the past. The past continuous is used to talk about an action or situation that was going on at a particular point of time in the past.

Use the past continuous for the longer background action. Use the simple past for the shorter action that happens in the middle of the longer action.

1. I ………………………….. a movie yesterday. (watch)

2. I …………………………… (watch) a movie when the lights …………………………… (go) out.

3. I ……………………………… (cook) dinner when the guests ……………………….. (arrive)

4. The family ……………………………. (holiday) in London when burglars …………………………… (break) into their home.

5. The teacher …………………………… (punish) the boy for being late.

6. I ……………………………. (work) in the garden when I …………………………. (see) a snake.

7. While you …………………………….. (watch) TV, I …………………………….. (learn) my lessons.

8. Though it …………………………. (rain) we …………………………. (go) out.

9. I …………………………… (wait) for the bus when someone …………………………. (snatch) my chain.

10. What …………………………….. (you do) at 8 o’clock yesterday evening.

Answers

1. I watched a movie yesterday.

2. I was watching a movie when the lights went out.

3. I was cooking dinner when the guests arrived.

4. The family was holidaying in London when burglars broke into their home.

5. The teacher punished the boy for being late.

6. I was working in the garden when I saw a snake.

7. While you were watching TV, I was learning my lessons.

8. Though it was raining we went out.

9. I was waiting for the bus when someone snatched my chain.

10. What were you doing at 8 o’clock yesterday evening?

Tenses Worksheets For Classes 8, 9 And 10

• Present continuous tense exercise for class 9
• Tenses gap filling exercise
• Non-continuous verbs worksheet
• Simple past vs. past continuous tense worksheet for class 9
• Simple past and past continuous tense exercise for class 9
• Tenses exercise for class 8 CBSE
• Tenses exercise for class 8 CBSE | 2
• Simple past vs. present perfect tense worksheet
• Tenses worksheet for classes 9 and 10
• Tenses worksheet for class 10
• Tenses exercise for class 10
• Tenses exercise for class 10 CBSE | 2