PAST TENSES

Boost your English grammar! Practice past tenses (simple, continuous, perfect) with two engaging story exercises.

EXERCISE 1Fill the gaps with the most appropiate past tenses of verbs in brakets: past simple, past continuous, past perfect simple or past perfect continuous. Many years ago I 1 decided (decide) to spend New Year's Eve with my family. I 2 didn't normally spend (normally / not spend) new year with my parents but I had nowhere to go, and being with my family seemed preferable to being on my own.When my parents 3 opened (open) the door I could see they 4 were smiling (smile), and that they were genuinely happy to see me. I 5 had been addicted (addict) to heroin for 10 years, and for them, seeing me was the confirmation that I wasn't dead in an alley. Unfortunately, I 6 had (have) nothing new or exciting to tell them, just the same sad old stories. I 7 had been going (go) from crappy job to crappy job, being invariably sacked, and I 8 had been resorting (resort) to crime whenever I was out of money. Same old, same old.During dinner, I 9 drank up (drink up) a few glassfuls of whisky. I 10 needed (need) something to make ease the pain, because for the whole evening my sisters 11 had been looking (look) at me with such contempt that it was unbearable. My own sisters 12 hated (hate) me. Then I had a moment of realisation; I 13 discovered (discover) that they would never hate me as much as I hated myself.When we finished dinner I 14 raised (raise) my glass. "I'm going into rehab," I said. My parents 15 looked (look) at me with some kind of hope. Parents never lose hope. But my sisters just 16 looked down (look) with disdain. They 17 knew (know) perfectly well that I had been in rehab centres many times before, and that this time wouldn't be different.But this time it was different. After that day, I remembered that look in my sisters' eyes every day, every time I 19 wanted (want) to shoot some heroin. 10 years later, on a New Year's Eve, I thanked my sisters because they 20 had saved (save) my life. They kissed me with their new look in their eyes, the look of love. EXERCISE 2Fill the gaps with the most appropiate past tenses of verbs in brakets: past simple, past continuous, past perfect simple or past perfect continuous. We thought that we were on the right path when suddenly we 1 ran into (run into) a very familiar rock and 2 realised (realise) that we 3 had been walking (walk) in circles for quite a long time. We 4 were (be) totally lost, and the fact that we 5 had already finished (already our water provisions wasn't very promising.We 6 decided (decide) to go uphill because according to John, it would be easier to spot a way out from an elevated point. He 7 had learnt (learn) that from a documentary he 8 had seen (see) about survival. But what the documentary 9 hadn't taught (not teach) John was that maybe it’s not such a good idea to go up a mountain when you are exhausted and waterless.We 10 had trekked (trek) one mile when we 11 started (started) to have a horrible feeling that that might be our last trek. Of course, we 12 didn't say (say) anything, but we could see in each other’s eyes that at that precise moment we 13 were thinking (think) precisely the same. We couldn't walk any longer, so we 14 decided (decide) to sit and rest, quietly, because neither of us wanted to share any of our gloomy thoughts."Hello, can I help you?" we suddenly 15 heard (hear). We 16 raised (raise) our heads and 17 saw (see) a little man with slanted eyes and a childish grin. He 18 was standing (stand) right next to us. I wondered where he 19 had come (come) from and how long he 20 had been standing (stand) there. But it didn't matter really, because we were safe.