Past simple, past continuous, past perfect

This exercise helps you understand the differences between the past simple, past continuous, and past perfect tenses. You’ll practise choosing the correct tense based on the timing, order, and context of actions in the past. These tenses are often used together to describe events, situations, and background actions clearly and in detail. Perfect for B1 learners who want to talk about past events with greater accuracy and fluency.

1. By the time we arrived, the film _____.

was starting

started

had already started

2. She _____ dinner when the guests arrived.

had cooked

cooked

was cooking

3. They _____ their homework before they went out.

finished

had finished

were finishing

4. While I _____ home, it started to rain.

walked

had walked

was walking

5. He didn’t recognize her because she _____ so much.

changed

was changing

had changed

6. _____ what happened last night?

Did you see

Were you seeing

Had you seen

7. I _____ a book when the lights went out.

read

was reading

had read

8. After we _____, we went for a walk.

ate

had eaten

were eating

9. She was tired because she _____ all day.

worked

had worked

had been working

10. They _____ TV when the phone rang.

were watching

watched

had watched

11. We _____ that movie before yesterday.

didn’t see

hadn’t seen

weren’t seeing

12. What _____ at 8 p.m. last night?

had you done

did you do

were you doing