Certainly! Let's go through each sentence and choose the correct form of the verb in brackets, explaining the choices along the way.
1) I bought (buy) this car in January.
- We use the simple past tense "bought" because the action of purchasing the car was completed in the past.
2) I had finished (finish) high school when the Great Depression struck (strike) the country.
- "Had finished" is in the past perfect tense, showing that finishing high school happened before the Great Depression struck. "Struck" is the simple past, indicating when the Depression hit.
3) We were taking (take) a walk in the park when a heavy thunderstorm suddenly broke (break) out.
- "Were taking" is in the past continuous tense to indicate an ongoing action that was interrupted by "broke," the simple past tense of the storm starting.
4) When I finally woke (wake) up, the clock radio had been blaring (blare) for a good couple of hours.
- "Woke" is in the simple past, and "had been blaring" is in the past perfect continuous, showing the radio was blaring before and up to the point of waking.
5) Butch sniffed (sniff) the plate and woofed (woof). He was trembling (tremble) with anticipation.
- "Sniffed" and "woofed" are in the simple past for completed actions, and "was trembling" is past continuous to indicate an ongoing action at that time.
6) I bought (buy) a diamond ring for my future wife yesterday.
- Simple past "bought" is appropriate for an action completed in the past.
7) I had been waiting (wait) for half an hour when she finally arrived (arrive).
- "Had been waiting" is past perfect continuous, indicating an ongoing action that was completed by "arrived," which is in the simple past.
8) The car had been serviced (service) before it was sold (sell).
- "Had been serviced" is past perfect passive, indicating the servicing happened before the car was sold, which is in the simple past passive.
9) Condensed milk has been produced (produce) in America since the mid-1850s.
- "Has been produced" is present perfect passive, indicating an action that started in the past and continues to the present.
10) She had already left (already, leave) when I came (come).
- "Had already left" is past perfect for an action completed before "came," which is simple past.
11) I was talking (talk) on the phone when she ran (run) into the room.
- "Was talking" is past continuous, indicating an ongoing action interrupted by "ran," which is simple past.
12) I was (be) at work yesterday.
- Simple past "was" is used for a completed action.
13) Her hair was (be) wet, she had been swimming (swim).
- "Was" is simple past describing her hair, and "had been swimming" is past perfect continuous, indicating an action leading to that state.
14) I ate (eat) frogs when I was (be) in France.
- Simple past "ate" and "was" describe completed actions.
15) He had been repairing (repair) the car during the whole week before he decided (decide) to ask me to help him.
- "Had been repairing" is past perfect continuous, indicating an ongoing action completed by "decided," which is simple past.
16) I was doing (do) homework at 5 o'clock yesterday.
- Past continuous "was doing" indicates an ongoing action at a specific past time.
17) While I was writing (write) a letter, my father was looking through the newspaper.
- Past continuous "was writing" and "was looking" indicate simultaneous ongoing actions.
18) The Jurassic period lasted (last) about 62 million years.
- Simple past "lasted" indicates a completed duration.
19) I did not know (not, know) who he was (be). I had seen (see) him before.
- "Did not know" and "was" are simple past describing a past state, while "had seen" is past perfect for an action completed before the past moment.
20) He wrote (write) the letter, put (put) it in the envelope, left (leave) it on the table, and went (go) out.
- All verbs are in the simple past to indicate a sequence of completed actions.
21) The house was (be) dirty. They had been cleaning it for weeks.
- Simple past "was" describes a state, while "had been cleaning" is past perfect continuous, indicating an ongoing action leading to that state.
22) He knew (know) that she had been working (work) in this company for five years.
- Simple past "knew" describes a past state, while "had been working" is past perfect continuous, indicating an ongoing action completed by the time of knowing.
