To complete the sentences with the correct forms of the past simple and past continuous, it is important to understand when to use each tense. The past simple is used for actions that were completed in the past, while the past continuous is used for actions that were ongoing at a specific time in the past. Here are the sentences completed with the appropriate verb forms:
Last year, while I was staying with friends on their farm, I rode a horse for the first time.
- "Was staying" is in the past continuous because it describes an ongoing action in the past, while "rode" is in the past simple because it is a completed action.
When I was a child, we moved house at least five times.
- "Moved" is in the past simple because it refers to completed actions that happened multiple times in the past.
Ben was watching TV when he heard a strange noise coming from the flat next door.
- "Was watching" is in the past continuous because it describes an ongoing action at the time of the interruption, and "heard" is in the past simple because it is the action that interrupted the ongoing activity.
John lives in New York, but he grew up in Chicago.
- "Grew up" is in the past simple because it refers to a completed action in the past.
Christine knew she couldn't live in that place forever.
- "Knew" is in the past simple because it describes a state of understanding at a specific time in the past.
I was not living there, I was only staying there while my house was being renovated.
- "Was not living" and "was only staying" are both in the past continuous because they describe temporary situations that were ongoing at that time.
What were you doing when I called you earlier?
- "Were you doing" is in the past continuous because it asks about an ongoing action at the time, and "called" is in the past simple because it is the action that occurred at a specific point in time.
These sentences demonstrate the correct usage of past simple and past continuous tenses to describe different kinds of actions and states in the past.
