Simple past is used to express :

1. A habitual action in the past He always carried his little typewriter with him.
2. An action completed in the past I met Sudha at the supermarket this at a definite time afternoon.
A. Complete the following :
Gained Originated Became Closed Died Gave Broke Awarded
1. Shakespeare ______________ in the year 1616.
2. The maths teacher _______________ us a surprise test.
3. The municipality _________________ the park despite the protest.
4. Thieves _________________ into the house last night.
5. The court ___________________ life sentence to the criminal.
6. The game of chess _________________ in India.
7. The curious bird dodo ________________ extinct around 1681.
8. The Algeria_______________ independence in the year 1962.

Past Continuous ( was/were + Present Participle of the verb)

It is used to express an action which occurred in the pas and continued for some time. It is often used with while or when.
B. Put in simple past and past continuous forms of the verbs given in brackets appropriately in the blanks in the following
sentences:
1. While I ______________ (have) tea, the dog___________ (jump)on the table.
2. When Rajiv___________ (talk) on the phone, someone__________ (pick) his pocket.
3. While we ___________ (watch) the movie, someone___________ stole(steal) our car.
4. When I____________ (enter), they____________ (discuss) the science project.
5. Harish____________ (meet) Anita while he___________ (travel) to Delhi from Kolkata.

Past Perfect (had + past participle of verb)

This tense is used to refer to an event in the past which happened before another event also in the past. In other words,
when two events place in the past, one earlier and the other later, we use the past perfect tense.