Past Tense Practice

 Exercise: Fill in the Blanks

Read the following paragraph and fill in the blanks with the appropriate past tense form (past simple, past continuous, past perfect, or past perfect continuous).

Last weekend, I (1. have) a fantastic time. On Saturday morning, I (2. wake) up early and (3. start) baking cookies. While I (4. mix) the dough, my friends (5. call) and said they (6. want) to come over. So, I (7. quickly clean) the house before they (8. arrive). By the time they (9. get) to my place, I (10. already bake) a dozen cookies. We (11. spend) the entire afternoon chatting and munching on cookies. Later, we (12. watch) a movie together. When they (13. leave), I (14. realize) that it (15. be) one of the best weekends I (16. ever have).

 

Story completion

Once upon a time, in a small village, there (1. be) a curious boy named Tim. One day, he (2. find) an old, dusty book in his grandmother's attic. As he (3. flip) through the pages, he (4. discover) a hidden map. The map (5. lead) to a mysterious treasure buried deep in the forest. Excited, Tim (6. gather) his friends, and they (7. set) off on an adventure.

While they (8. walk) through the dense forest, the sun (9. shine) brightly, and the birds (10. sing) merrily. Suddenly, they (11. come) across a river blocking their path. Tim, who (12. learn) to swim, (13. decide) to cross it. He (14. dive) in while his friends (15. watch) anxiously from the bank.

As Tim (16. swim) to the other side, he (17. notice) a cave hidden behind a waterfall. Curiosity (18. get) the better of him, and he (19. enter) the cave. Inside, he (20. find) a chest covered in dust and cobwebs. It (21. be) the treasure they had been searching for all along!