Past tenses quiz

Do you know when to use the past simple, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses? Test your knowledge with this quiz!
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You can play the interactive version of the quiz or, if you prefer, you can read the text version below it.
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Past Tenses Quiz (text version)

1. I _____ to Paris in 2015.
a) go
b) went
c) did go
d) had gone

2. I _____ a shower when the phone rang.
a) was having
b) had
c) had had
d) were having

3. When I arrived at work, I realised that I _____ my phone at home.
a) have left
b) was leaving
c) left
d) had left

4. This time last week, I _____ on a beach!
a) lay
b) was lying
c) had lain
d) had been lying

5. Her eyes were red and it looked as if she _____.
a) had been crying
b) cried
c) was crying
d) had cried

6. I got home, _____ a shower and _____ straight to bed.
a) was having, went
b) had, had gone
c) had, went
d) had had, had gone

7. First I got home and then my husband cooked dinner. He waited for me before he started cooking. Which sentence below has the same meaning?
a) When I got home, my husband cooked dinner.
b) When I got home, my husband was cooking dinner.
c) When I got home, my husband had cooked dinner.
d) When I got home, my husband had been cooking dinner.

8. First my husband cooked dinner and then I got home. Dinner was ready when I arrived. Which sentence below has the same meaning?
a) When I got home, my husband cooked dinner.
b) When I got home, my husband was cooking dinner.
c) When I got home, my husband had cooked dinner.
d) When I got home, my husband had been cooking dinner.

9. When I got home, my husband was in the middle of preparing dinner. He started cooking, then I got home and then he finished. Which sentence below has the same meaning?
a) When I got home, my husband cooked dinner.
b) When I got home, my husband was cooking dinner.
c) When I got home, my husband had cooked dinner.
d) When I got home, my husband had been cooking dinner.

10. When I got home, I saw the kitchen was a mess! There were dirty dishes and pans everywhere! Which sentence below has the same meaning?
a) When I got home, my husband cooked dinner.
b) When I got home, my husband was cooking dinner.
c) When I got home, my husband had cooked dinner.
d) When I got home, my husband had been cooking dinner.

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​Answers

1 b
I WENT to Paris in 2015. We use the past simple for completed past events.
The verb "go" is irregular and "went" is the past tense.

2 a
I WAS HAVING a shower when the phone rang.
This is the past continuous (or past progressive) tense. It shows the action was in progress, or incomplete, when the phone rang. We often use past simple (rang) and past continuous (was having) together in this way. 

3 d
I realised that I HAD LEFT my phone at home.
This is the past perfect tense. "I realised" is past but "I had left" is "more past". (“More past” is not very good English but a good way to explain it!) We often use past simple (arrived, realised) and past perfect (had left) together in this way.

4 b
This time last week, I WAS LYING on a beach!
This shows that "lying on the beach" was in progress. The action started before this time and continued afterwards.

5 a
Her eyes were red and it looked as if she HAD BEEN CRYING.
Had + been + ___ing is the past perfect continuous. It shows that the action (crying) was both for some time (continuous) and "more past" (perfect).

6 c
I got home, HAD a shower and WENT straight to bed.
When we describe a sequence of events in the order that they happened, we use past simple for everything.

7 a
When I got home, my husband COOKED dinner.
When we simply describe events in the order that they happened, we use the use past simple.

8 c
When I got home, my husband HAD COOKED dinner.
When we want to describe an earlier past, we use the use past perfect. One action was completed before the other.

9 b
When I got home, my husband WAS COOKING dinner.
When we want to describe an unfinished action, or an action in progress, we use the use past continuous.

10 d
When I got home, my husband HAD BEEN COOKING dinner.
This is past perfect continuous and it emphasises the length of time. He had been cooking for some time. We don't know if the dinner is finished or not finished in this context.

Learn more!
If you would like to learn more about the past tenses, click on the links below:
past simple
past continuous
past perfect
past perfect continuous

​If you enjoyed this quiz, click here to try my present tenses quiz.


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