Past Continuous in English - revision exercise 2.

(Exercise continued from part one...) PART TWO: Choose the best option and write it in the space.

The conjunction "when" that joins the two parts of a past continuous / past simple sentence can be put 12) (in front of / behind) the past continuous part. In this case, we often change when to 13) (if / while) or as:

While (As / When) Mary was swimming in the sea, she saw a shark. ...
Mary saw a shark 14) (during / as) (when / while) she was swimming in the sea. ...

Past continuous can also be used when we talk about a 15) (specific time / unspecific time) in the past. We understand that the action continued after the time mentioned. Examples:

What were you doing at six o'clock yesterday evening? ...
At that moment John was driving back home. ...

Past continuous can also be used with another past 16) (simple / continuous) sentence. In this case, one action doesn't interrupt another. The two actions happen 17) (at the same time / one after the other) and for the same length of time:

While John was washing the car, Mary was repairing the engine. ...
The children were playing in the park while their mother was reading a book. ...

In a similar way, the past continuous is used in narrative to describe more than one scene happening at the same time. The 18) (story / poetry) in past simple then interrupts the scene:

On Sunday morning the sun was shining and the birds were singing in the trees. John got out of bed and... ...

Try to avoid making a mistake like this one:

What did you do yesterday? I was watching a film at the cinema.

Remember that single actions or a sequence of actions in the past are usually in 19) (past continuous / past simple) :

What did you do yesterday? I 20) (watched / was watching) a film at the cinema. ...