Card 1 fill in the blanks with a correct form, the past simple or the past continuous: 1. he ………………………………….. (talk) with mary, when mrs. smith came in. 2. they ………………………………… (study) two hours last night. 3. jane …………………………………. (sleep) when the telephone rang. 4. as i …………………………………. (walk) to the lab, i met my friend. 5. we ………………………………….. (watch) tv last night. 6. the customer ………………………… (pay) his cheque when he dropped his credit card. 7. the barber …………………………………. (cut) my hair yesterday. 8. she ………………………………. (dance) when she hurt her ankle. 9. it …………………………………. (rain) hard when i got up. 10. it …………………………………. (rain) hard last night

1. He was talking with Mary, when Mrs. Smith came in.
2. They studied two hours last night.
3. Jane was sleeping when the telephone rang.
4. As I was walking to the lab, I met my friend.
5. We watched TV last night.
6. The customer was paying his cheque when he dropped his credit card.
7. The barber cut my hair yesterday.
8. She was dancing when she hurt her ankle.
9. It was raining hard when I got up.
10. It rained hard last night.

1. He was talking with Mary when Mrs. Smith came in.

Explanation: In this sentence, the action of "talking" was happening at a specific point in the past ("when Mrs. Smith came in"). Therefore, we use the past continuous tense ("was talking").

2. They studied two hours last night.

Explanation: The action of "studying" happened in the past and was completed at a specific time ("last night"). Therefore, we use the past simple tense ("studied").

3. Jane was sleeping when the telephone rang.

Explanation: Jane was in the continuous state of sleeping when the action of "the telephone rang" interrupted her. Therefore, we use the past continuous tense ("was sleeping").

4. As I was walking to the lab, I met my friend.

Explanation: The action of "walking" happened continuously in the past until the action of "meeting my friend" interrupted it. Therefore, we use the past continuous tense ("was walking").

5. We watched TV last night.

Explanation: The action of "watching TV" happened in the past and was completed at a specific time ("last night"). Therefore, we use the past simple tense ("watched").

6. The customer was paying his cheque when he dropped his credit card.

Explanation: The action of "paying the cheque" was happening in the past when the action of "dropping his credit card" interrupted it. Therefore, we use the past continuous tense ("was paying").

7. The barber cut my hair yesterday.

Explanation: The action of "cutting my hair" happened in the past and was completed at a specific time ("yesterday"). Therefore, we use the past simple tense ("cut").

8. She was dancing when she hurt her ankle.

Explanation: The action of "dancing" was happening in the past when the action of "hurting her ankle" interrupted it. Therefore, we use the past continuous tense ("was dancing").

9. It was raining hard when I got up.

Explanation: The action of "raining hard" was happening in the past at the time when the speaker "got up." Therefore, we use the past continuous tense ("was raining").

10. It rained hard last night.

Explanation: The action of "raining hard" happened in the past and was completed at a specific time ("last night"). Therefore, we use the past simple tense ("rained").