Mixed Past Tenses Exercises & Worksheet with Answers

These mixed past tenses exercises bring all the English past forms together: past simple, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, used to and would. In real texts they are always mixed, so this is the best way to check if you can choose the right one. Check the table, then practise. Each answer is explained.

Tense	Form	Use it for	Example
Past simple	worked, went	finished actions, main events	I missed the bus.
Past continuous	was / were + -ing	actions in progress, background	It was raining.
Past perfect	had + participle	the earlier of two past actions	The bus had left.
Past perfect continuous	had been + -ing	how long, up to a past moment	I had been waiting for 20 minutes.
Used to / would	used to / would + verb	past habits (used to also for states)	I used to walk to school.
Past passive	was / were + participle	when the action matters more than who did it	The bridge was built in 1890.

Past tenses quiz

Three levels from A2 to B2, plus a Story set: a short text about a first day at work with 20 gaps, great for reading practice or for class. Where two tenses are correct, both answers are accepted. Prefer to check everything at the end? Switch to Exam mode.

Level A2 20 questions ~8 min

Yesterday I (go) to the cinema with my friends.
What you doing at 9 o’clock last night?
I my homework when my friend called.
We (not / have) time for breakfast this morning.
She a beautiful dress at the party.
While we TV, the lights went out.
(you / see) Tom at school yesterday?
He his bike and hurt his knee.
It when I woke up, so I took an umbrella.
My grandparents (buy) this house in 1975.
I you at the station, but you didn’t see me.
They football when it started to snow.
I (think) the test was easy, but I got a bad mark.
Where you go on holiday last year?
The phone rang while I a bath.
She (not / be) at home when I called.
We the museum and then had lunch in a café.
When I was little, I to be a pilot.
Who (you / talk) to when I saw you this morning?
I my keys and couldn’t open the door.

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Teachers: download these questions as a printable worksheet with an answer key. It’s free to use in class.

Level B1 20 questions ~8 min

When I got to the party, most people dancing.
When I got to the party, Sarah (already / leave).
I play the piano when I was younger, but I stopped.
We for an hour when the taxi finally arrived.
He broke his leg while he (ski) in the Alps.
She didn’t come to the cinema because she the film.
As a child, I spend hours reading in my room.
I (not / understand) the question, so I asked the teacher.
When we arrived, the concert .
Her hands were cold because she outside for hours.
We (live) in Spain for three years before we moved to Italy.
I my wallet, so I had to borrow money from a friend.
There be a cinema on this street, but now it’s a supermarket.
What (you / do) when the accident happened?
I to Italy three times before I finally learned some Italian.
The streets were wet. It .
She (meet) her husband while she was working in London.
I asleep when the film ended.
We for hours, so we stopped for a rest.
My dad (drive) a red car when I was a child.

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Teachers: download these questions as a printable worksheet with an answer key. It’s free to use in class.

Level B2 20 questions ~8 min

I him since we were at school together.
I him when we were at school together.
The bridge (build) in 1890.
While the house , we stayed with friends.
By the time I found out, everyone else for weeks.
When I was a teenager, my mum (always / tell) me to tidy my room.
I to go to the gym, but then I changed my mind.
It was the first time I such a beautiful sunset.
He (work) in the garden all afternoon, so he was exhausted.
The money from the safe during the night.
She the company for twenty years when she finally retired.
I (just / leave) the house when it started to pour.
When I was a child, we go to the lake every Sunday.
I knew the answer because I it the night before.
The suspect said he (never / be) to the city before.
We have a car when I was young.
By 2010, the population by 20%.
At midnight we (still / work) on the project.
I you would come. What a nice surprise!
The window , so we called the police.

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Teachers: download these questions as a printable worksheet with an answer key. It’s free to use in class.

Level B1–B2 20 questions ~8 min

It (be) my first day at the new job, and I was very nervous.
I (wake) up at 6 am and got dressed quickly.
While I breakfast, I checked the bus timetable.
I (never / work) in such a big company before.
When I got to the bus stop, the bus .
I (wait) for twenty minutes when the next bus finally came.
By the time I arrived at the office, the meeting .
Everyone (look) at me when I walked into the room.
My new boss a presentation about the company’s plans.
I (sit) down quietly at the back.
Then I realised I my laptop on the bus!
I (feel) terrible.
Luckily, a colleague the same bus, and she had seen it.
She (already / give) it to the receptionist.
In my old job, I arrive late all the time, and nobody cared.
But here people (seem) much more serious.
At lunch, my colleagues told me that the boss late too on her first day.
By the end of the day, I (meet) the whole team.
I home tired but happy.
I (be) in that job for five years now, and I still remember that day.

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Teachers: download these questions as a printable worksheet with an answer key. It’s free to use in class.

How to choose the right past tense

Ask three questions in this order:

Was it in progress at that moment? → past continuous (I was cooking when…)
Did it happen before another past action? → past perfect (…the guests had already arrived), or past perfect continuous if you say how long (they had been waiting for an hour)
Is it a habit that has stopped? → used to or would (We used to live in Rome)

If none of these fits, use the past simple. It’s the default past tense for finished actions.

Common mistakes

❌ I have seen him yesterday. → ✅ I saw him yesterday.
❌ When I was a child, we would have a dog. → ✅ …we used to have a dog. (a state)
❌ I was knowing the answer. → ✅ I knew the answer. (stative verb)

FAQ

How many past tenses are there in English?

There are four: past simple, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous. We also use used to and would for past habits, and was going to for past plans. The present perfect connects the past with now, so it is usually treated as a present tense.

What level are these exercises?

There are four sets: Basics (A2), Intermediate (B1), Advanced (B2) and Story (B1–B2). For more practice on specific pairs, try narrative tenses, past perfect vs past perfect continuous and used to, be used to, get used to.