Watch the movie segment and fill in the blanks with the simple past or the past continuous form of the verbs in parentheses.
1) Chris _________________ (cook) burgers for breakfast when his landlord ________________ (knock) on his door.
2) The police ______________ (arrest) Chris when he ________________ (paint) the house.
3) Chris _______________ (pay) some parking tickets when the officer __________ (tell) him he was supposed to spend the night in jail.
4) When Chris __________ (call) his ex-wife, she _____________ (work) hard.
5) When he _______________ (enter) the elevator, he _____________ (try) to button up his jacket.
1) He __________________ (wait) in the waiting room when the secretary _________ (call) out his name.
2) When he ___________________ (walk) through the office, businesspeople _______________ (talk) on the phone, _______________ (speak) very loudly, and _______________ (work) a lot.
3) The Board _____________ (wait) for Chris when the secretary ___________ (announce) him.
Answer Key:
1. was cooking / knocked
2. arrested / was painting
3. was paying /told
4. called / was working
5. entered/ was trying
6. was waiting / called
7. walked / were talking - speaking - working
8. was waiting / announced
How to prepare your own video activity:
Grammar Goal: Simple Past x Past Continuous
• Select a scene in which the characters’ actions are interrupted during the segment.
• Prepare an exercise in which the students have to identify when to use the target structures.
• Make sure the students know when to use both verb tenses before they actually do the exercise.
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