Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories

Grammar Stories

The Car Accident

A. Reading

I saw a car accident yesterday. I was standing on the corner, waiting

for the green light. The other light changed from green to yellow.
Then I saw a sports car. The man driving the sports car was driving
very fast. He wanted to get through the yellow light, but when he
got closer, it turned red. On the other street, a tow truck started to
move forward. The driver of the sports car tried to stop, but it was
too late. He smashed into the side of the tow truck. The man in the
sports car got out of his car very slowly. He had a cut on his head,
and he was stumbling around. The man in the tow truck was not
hurt. He called an ambulance with his cell phone. By then, a crowd
was gathering. Some people were watching from a distance, and
others were helping the injured man. Then the ambulance arrived.
The paramedics put the injured man on a stretcher and drove him
to the hospital.

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

The Car Accident cont.

B. Questions

1. What did she see yesterday?

2. What was she doing when it happened?

3. How was the man in the sports car driving?

4. Why was he driving so fast?

5. What did the driver of the sports car try to do when he saw the tow truck move forward?

6. Who was injured?

7. What did the man in the tow truck do after the accident?

8. What was the crowd of people doing?

9. What did the paramedics do?

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

My Speech
A. Reading

I gave a speech in front of my class yesterday. I was very nervous,

and I was sweating a lot. Everyone was bored. Even my teacher
was bored! She was yawning and watching the soccer game out
the window. Some people were sleeping on their desks. One guy
was even snoring. Other people were doing their homework. I was
holding my notes in front of me, and my hands were shaking. I
was talking really fast. Afterwards, everyone said it was very good.
My teacher gave me a good mark, but she told me to speak more
slowly next time.

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

My Speech cont.
B. Questions

1. What did he do in class yesterday?

2. How did he feel?

3. Were people interested in his speech?

4. What was his teacher doing during his speech?

5. What were his classmates doing during his speech?

6. How could people tell that he was nervous?

7. What did everyone say about his speech?

8. What advice did his teacher give him?

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

About You
A. Questions

Answer the following questions using the simple past and the past progressive.

1. When was the last time you saw a car accident?

a) What happened?

b) Was anyone injured?

c) Were you driving at the time?

2. When was the last time you gave a speech?

a) Were you nervous?

b) Were people listening to what you were saying?

c) Did anyone ask questions at the end?

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

About You cont.

B. Drawing C. Writing

Draw a picture of yourself in the Using the simple past and past progressive,
box, or paste in a photograph. write a short paragraph about yourself.
Use the questions and answers on page
5 to help you.

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

Your Own Story

A. Drawing

Draw a picture in the box, or paste in a photograph.

B. Writing

Using the simple past and past progressive, write

a short paragraph about the picture in the box. Use
your notebook if you don’t have enough space below.

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

Your Own Story cont.

C. Questions
Write five questions about your paragraph.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

D. Answers
Give your story and questions to a classmate.
Have them read your story and answer your questions below.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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 Simple Past & Past Progressive Stories
Grammar Stories

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Int

In this lesson, students read two stories that use the simple past TIME: 1.5 – 2 hours
and past progressive in context. They answer comprehension
TAGS: simple past, past progressive, past continuous,
questions and write two paragraphs of their own using the
mixed tenses, when, grammar in context
simple past and past progressive.

The Car Accident About You

1. She saw a car accident yesterday. Individual answers.

2. She was standing on the corner, waiting for the green light.
3. The man in the sports car was driving very fast.
Your Own Story
4. He was driving so fast because he
wanted to get through the yellow light.
Individual answers.
5. When he saw the tow truck move forward,
the driver of the sports car tried to stop.
6. The man in the sports car was injured. EDITOR’S NOTE:

7. After the accident, the man in the tow truck Note that in North American English, Afterwards and Forwards
called an ambulance with his cell phone. can also be said and written as Afterward and Forward. The same
8. Some people were watching from a distance, is true for other directional words such as towards/toward and
and some were helping the injured man. backwards/backward.
9. The paramedics put the injured man on
a stretcher and drove him to the hospital.

My Speech

1. He gave a speech in front of his class yesterday.

2. He was very nervous and sweating a lot.
3. No, people were not interested in his speech.
4. During his speech, his teacher was yawning
and watching the soccer game out the window.
5. During his speech, his classmates were
sleeping, snoring, or doing their homework.
6. People could tell he was nervous because his
hands were shaking and he was talking really fast.
7. Everyone said his speech was very good.
8. His teacher told him to speak more slowly.

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