Skill Builders: Grammar Practice (Past Progressive)

Lower-Intermediate

PART ONE: CONJUGATE THE VERBS

The below sentences aren't in order, but they will eventually form a story. Do the following:
Step 1: Look at and understand each of the key verbs. You may check a dictionary if
necessary.
Step 2: Fill in the blanks with the verbs. Remember to conjugate the words into the past
progressive tense or the simple past tense.

A cockroach ____________________ out of the box when he

____________________ a bowl of cereal!
He ____________________ his coffee on the keyboard when he
____________________ his email.
So his alarm clock didn't ____________________, and he
____________________ two hours late.
On the way to work, he ____________________ to the train
station when he ___________________ and
When he ____________________ for the doctor, his girlfriend
____________________ him.
When he ____________________ into the office, his boss
immediately ____________________ at him for being so late.
The power ____________________ in the night when he
____________________.
When he ____________________ a train ticket, he
____________________ that he had forgotten his wallet.
He ____________________ an electric shock when he was
____________________ the computer.
As his head ____________________ the pillow, Karl
___________________, "I'm __________________ this day is
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Skill Builders: Grammar Practice (Past Progressive)

Lower-Intermediate

PART TWO: COMPLETE THE STORY

The sentences below tell about Karl's Day, which wasn't very good.
Step 1: Look at the sentences from PART ONE. Write them in the correct order.
Step 2: Compare your answers with a partner. Do you have the same answers?

Karl had the worst day imaginable! ___________________________

___________________________________________. _______________
________________________________________________________. _____________
___________________________________________________________. He didn't
feel too hungry after that, and decided not to eat. ___________________________
____________________________________________. His new suit now had a hole
in the knee. ___________________________________________________________
___________. He had to go all the way home! _____________________________
_________________________________________. ____________________________
__________________________________________. The computer started smoking,
and he panicked. ______________________________________________________
_________________. That sent him to the hospital. _________________________
___________________________________________________. She had gotten into a
car accident and was at the hospital too! They went home together, and
both were too tired to cook dinner, watch TV, or even talk. __________________
____________________________________________________.
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Skill Builders: Grammar Practice (Past Progressive)

Lower-Intermediate

ANSWERS
PART ONE
1: A cockroach jumped out of the box when he was pouring a bowl of cereal!
2: He spilled his coffee on the keyboard when he was checking his email.
3: So his alarm clock didn't go off, and he woke up two hours late.
4: On the way to work, he was running to the train when he tripped and fell.
5: When he was waiting for the doctor, his girlfriend called him.
6: When he was walking into the office, his boss immediately yelled at him for being so late.
7: The power went off in the night when he was sleeping.
8: When he was buying a train ticket, he realized that he had forgotten his wallet.
9: He got an electric shock when he was unplugging the computer.
10: As his head was hitting the pillow, Karl thought, "I'm glad this day is over!"

PART TWO
Karl had the worst day imaginable! The power went off in the night when he was sleeping.
So his alarm clock didn't go off, and he woke up two hours late. A cockroach jumped out
of the box when he was pouring a bowl of cereal! He didn't feel too hungry after that, and
decided not to eat. On the way to work, he was running to the train when he tripped and
fell. His new suit now had a hole in the knee. When he was buying a train ticket, he realized
that he had forgotten his wallet. He had to go all the way home! When he was walking into
the office, his boss immediately yelled at him for being so late. He spilled his coffee on
the keyboard when he was checking his email. The computer started smoking, and he
panicked. He got an electric shock when he was unplugging the computer. That sent him
to the hospital. When he was waiting for the doctor, his girlfriend called him. She had
gotten into a car accident and was at the hospital, too! They went home together, and both were
too tired to cook dinner, watch TV, or even talk. As his head was hitting the pillow, Karl
thought, "I'm glad this day is over!"

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