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Complete the sentences. Decide if you need to use the simple past or the past progressive.
- While Steve (watch) football on TV,
Monica (listen) to the radio.Both actions took place simultaneously over a longer period of time → past progressive
- When I (walk) down Fifth Avenue,
I (discover) a wonderful boutique.During a longer-lasting action, something new took place|1st space: past progressive|2nd space: simple past
- The angry little girl (throw) her toy onto the floor and (stamp) her foot.short, sequentially occurring actions → simple past|With the past progressive, the sentence would sound as if the action was taking place in a repeating loop.
- I (receive) your SMS while
I (sit) in the doctor’s waiting room.The first action took place when the second action was already occurring.|1st space: simple past|2nd space: past progressive
- When Ruth (be) little,
she (hate) the smell of coffee.The verbs be and hate are two of the verbs that are generally not used in the progressive form. → simple past