Упражнения на Past Simple и Past Continuous с ответами

Оба времени рассказывают о прошлом, но с разных сторон. Past Simple называет событие целиком: I called her. Past Continuous показывает процесс, который шёл в тот момент: I was cooking. В рассказе они почти всегда работают в паре: длинное действие в Continuous становится фоном, а короткое в Simple его прерывает: I was cooking when she called.

Впишите ответ в пропуск и нажмите «Проверить» под упражнением. В переводах нажмите «Сказать» и произнесите фразу по-английски: страница сравнит её с правильным вариантом.

Коротко о правиле

• When чаще вводит короткое событие: ...when the phone rang.
• While чаще вводит длительное действие: While I was driving, ...
• Глаголы состояния (know, want, like) в Continuous не ставят.

Подробно оба времени разобраны в статьях Past Simple и Past Continuous.

Упражнение 1. Событие или процесс

1. I ___ (watch) TV at 9 o'clock last night. → was watching
2. I ___ (watch) a great film last night. → watched
3. She ___ (live) in Paris for two years. → lived
4. At midnight they still ___ (dance). → were dancing
5. We ___ (meet) Tom at the station yesterday. → met
6. What ___ (you/do) at 6 p.m. yesterday? → were you doing
7. What ___ (you/do) yesterday? → did you do
8. It ___ (snow) all morning. → was snowing
9. He ___ (break) his phone last week. → broke
10. The sun ___ (shine) when we left the house. → was shining

Упражнение 2. Прерванное действие: when

1. I was having a shower when the phone ___ (ring). → rang
2. She ___ (cook) when she cut her finger. → was cooking
3. When I ___ (arrive), they were having dinner. → arrived
4. We were walking in the park when it ___ (start) to rain. → started
5. He ___ (drive) to work when he saw the accident. → was driving
6. When the teacher came in, the students ___ (talk). → were talking
7. I ___ (find) a wallet while I was jogging. → found
8. They were sleeping when the alarm ___ (go) off. → went

Упражнение 3. While или when

1. ___ I was cooking, my friend called. → While
2. I was cooking ___ my friend called. → when
3. ___ we were waiting for the bus, it started to rain. → While
4. She fell asleep ___ she was reading. → while
5. ___ the film ended, we went home. → When
6. He lost his keys ___ he was running. → while

Упражнение 4. Вопросы и отрицания

1. ___ (you/sleep) when I called? → Were you sleeping
2. ___ (you/hear) the news yesterday? → Did you hear
3. I ___ (not/listen), sorry. What did you say? → wasn't listening / was not listening
4. She ___ (not/come) to the party. → didn't come / did not come
5. What ___ (she/wear) when you saw her? → was she wearing
6. Where ___ (you/go) on holiday last year? → did you go
7. We ___ (not/watch) TV, we were talking. → weren't watching / were not watching
8. Why ___ (he/leave) so early? → did he leave

Упражнение 5. Короткая история

1. Last Saturday I ___ (walk) home from work. → was walking
2. It ___ (rain) and the streets were empty. → was raining
3. Suddenly a dog ___ (run) out of a yard. → ran
4. It ___ (follow) me all the way home. → followed
5. When I ___ (open) the door, the dog ran inside. → opened
6. My parents ___ (have) dinner in the kitchen. → were having
7. They ___ (look) at the dog and laughed. → looked
8. Now the dog ___ (live, сейчас) with us. → lives

Упражнение 6. Переведите на английский

Нажмите «Сказать» и произнесите перевод по-английски. Если удобнее про себя, нажмите «Показать ответ».

1. Мы смотрели фильм, когда погас свет. ⇒ We were watching a film when the lights went out.
2. Что вы делали вчера в семь вечера? ⇒ What were you doing at seven yesterday evening? / What were you doing at 7 p.m. yesterday?
3. Она позвонила, пока мы ужинали. ⇒ She called while we were having dinner.
4. Мы встретились в 2020 году. ⇒ We met in 2020.
5. Когда мы пришли, все танцевали. ⇒ When we arrived, everyone was dancing.
6. Шёл снег, и дети играли во дворе. ⇒ It was snowing and the children were playing outside. / It was snowing and the kids were playing in the yard.
7. Он упал, когда катался на лыжах. ⇒ He fell while he was skiing. / He fell when he was skiing.
8. Вы видели вчерашний матч? ⇒ Did you see yesterday's match? / Did you watch yesterday's match?

Упражнение 7. Расскажите вслух

Проверки здесь нет: это разминка для речи. Расскажите короткую историю, где есть и фон, и события.

• What were you doing yesterday at 8 p.m.?
• Remember a moment when something surprised you. What were you doing when it happened?
• What happened on your way home last time?
• What was the weather like when you woke up today?

Частые ошибки

I was knowing him. Глагол состояния: I knew him.

When I was arriving, they were eating. Приход короткое событие: When I arrived, they were eating.

I watched TV when you called. Если смотрели в этот момент: I was watching TV when you called.

What did you do at 8 yesterday? Про процесс в момент: What were you doing at 8 yesterday?

While I cooked, he was sleeping. Оба процесса: While I was cooking, he was sleeping.

Частые вопросы

Как выбрать между Past Simple и Past Continuous?

Спросите, важен ли процесс в конкретный момент. Если важно, что действие шло (at 8 p.m., when she called), нужен Past Continuous. Если вы просто называете событие или цепочку событий, нужен Past Simple.

Что ставить после when и while?

После while обычно длительное действие в Past Continuous: while I was driving. После when чаще короткое событие в Past Simple: when the phone rang. Но оба варианта возможны, если смысл позволяет.

Можно ли оба действия поставить в Past Simple?

Да, если они идут одно за другим: When she called, I answered. Сначала звонок, потом ответ. Past Continuous нужен, только когда одно действие уже шло в момент другого.

Почему What were you doing, а не What did you do?

What did you do yesterday спрашивает, чем вы занимались за день. What were you doing at 8 спрашивает, что происходило в конкретную минуту.