Simple Past vs Past Continuous (1–25)

1. I ______ dinner when the phone rang. was cooking
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Ich kochte gerade Abendessen, als das Telefon klingelte.])
a) was cooking ([kochte gerade])
b) cooked ([kochte])

2. She ______ into her boss at the station yesterday. ran
(finished action = yesterday)
([Sie traf gestern am Bahnhof zufällig ihren Chef.])
a) was running ([lief gerade])
b) ran ([traf / rannte])

3. We ______ TV when the lights went out. were watching
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Wir schauten gerade fern, als das Licht ausging.])
a) were watching ([schauten gerade])
b) watched ([schauten])

4. He ______ his ankle while he was playing football. hurt
(short event = while + action in progress)
([Er verletzte sich am Knöchel, während er Fußball spielte.])
a) hurt ([verletzte])
b) was hurting ([verletzte sich gerade])

5. I ______ you yesterday, but you didn’t pick up. called
(finished action = yesterday)
([Ich habe dich gestern angerufen, aber du bist nicht rangegangen.])
a) was calling ([rief gerade an])
b) called ([rief an])

6. They ______ lunch when the client arrived. were having
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Sie aßen gerade zu Mittag, als der Kunde ankam.])
a) were having ([aßen gerade])
b) had ([hatten])

7. He ______ his keys and then left the house. found
(sequence of finished actions = then)
([Er fand seine Schlüssel und ging dann aus dem Haus.])
a) was finding ([fand gerade])
b) found ([fand])

8. I ______ home when it started to rain. was walking
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Ich ging gerade nach Hause, als es anfing zu regnen.])
a) was walking ([ging gerade])
b) walked ([ging])

9. She ______ her laptop this morning. dropped
(finished action = this morning)
([Sie hat heute Morgen ihren Laptop fallen lassen.])
a) dropped ([ließ fallen])
b) was dropping ([ließ gerade fallen])

10. We ______ about the plan while we were driving. talked
(activity during a longer action = while)
([Wir sprachen über den Plan, während wir fuhren.])
a) were talking ([sprachen gerade])
b) talked ([sprachen])

11. He ______ a shower when I knocked on the door. was taking
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Er duschte gerade, als ich an die Tür klopfte.])
a) was taking ([duschte gerade])
b) took ([duschte])

12. They ______ the contract last Friday. signed
(finished action = last Friday)
([Sie unterschrieben den Vertrag letzten Freitag.])
a) were signing ([unterschrieben gerade])
b) signed ([unterschrieben])

13. I ______ to music when my headphones broke. was listening
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Ich hörte gerade Musik, als meine Kopfhörer kaputtgingen.])
a) was listening ([hörte gerade])
b) listened ([hörte])

14. She ______ the door and walked in. opened
(sequence of finished actions = and)
([Sie öffnete die Tür und ging hinein.])
a) opened ([öffnete])
b) was opening ([öffnete gerade])

15. We ______ in the queue when the shop closed. were waiting
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Wir standen gerade in der Schlange, als der Laden schloss.])
a) waited ([warteten])
b) were waiting ([warteten gerade])

16. He ______ the wrong file by mistake yesterday. sent
(finished action = yesterday)
([Er hat gestern aus Versehen die falsche Datei geschickt.])
a) was sending ([schickte gerade])
b) sent ([schickte])

17. I ______ when I heard a strange noise. was sleeping
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Ich schlief gerade, als ich ein seltsames Geräusch hörte.])
a) was sleeping ([schlief gerade])
b) slept ([schlief])

18. They ______ a new system last month. installed
(finished time = last month)
([Sie haben letzten Monat ein neues System installiert.])
a) installed ([installierten])
b) were installing ([installierten gerade])

19. She ______ on the sofa when I arrived. was lying
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Sie lag gerade auf dem Sofa, als ich ankam.])
a) lay ([lag])
b) was lying ([lag gerade])

20. We ______ the decision and then informed the team. made
(sequence of finished actions = then)
([Wir trafen die Entscheidung und informierten dann das Team.])
a) made ([trafen])
b) were making ([trafen gerade])

21. I ______ in the meeting when my manager texted me. was speaking
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Ich sprach gerade im Meeting, als mein Manager mir schrieb.])
a) was speaking ([sprach gerade])
b) spoke ([sprach])

22. They ______ home late last night. returned
(finished time = last night)
([Sie kamen gestern Nacht spät nach Hause zurück.])
a) were returning ([kamen gerade zurück])
b) returned ([kamen zurück])

23. He ______ his bike when it suddenly broke. was riding
(background action in progress = when + interrupting event)
([Er fuhr gerade Fahrrad, als es plötzlich kaputtging.])
a) rode ([fuhr])
b) was riding ([fuhr gerade])

24. We ______ coffee at 8 a.m. yesterday. were drinking
(action in progress at a specific time = at 8 a.m. yesterday)
([Wir tranken gestern um 8 Uhr Kaffee.])
a) were drinking ([tranken gerade])
b) drank ([tranken])

25. She ______ the email and then went home. sent
(sequence of finished actions = and then)
([Sie schickte die E-Mail und ging dann nach Hause.])
a) was sending ([schickte gerade])
b) sent ([schickte])