Exercise 2 Write the verbs in this story in the Past Simple or Past Continuous.

He (1 – stop) just before putting his key in the front door. Something (2 – happen) in the back garden… Quietly, he crept around the side of the house and (3 – look) around through the gate. Two men (4 – stand) at the back of the house, holding a ladder. A third man was at the top of the ladder, and a fourth inside the house: he (5 – pass) furniture through the window to his partner, who (6 – give) it to his friends below. All four (7 – work) quietly and efficiently, and the pile of furniture in the garden (8 – get) bigger by the minute. Derek (9 – can not) believe his eyes: the team of strangers (10 – empty) his entire flat, and they (11 – behave) as if this was the most normal thing in the world. He (12 – cough) loudly, and then (13 – say) “Excuse me!” – and the man at the top of the ladder (14 – drop) his portable TV onto the concrete below.

Here is the story with the verbs filled in the Past Simple or Past Continuous tense:

He (1 – stopped) just before putting his key in the front door. Something (2 – happened) in the back garden… Quietly, he crept around the side of the house and (3 – looked) around through the gate. Two men (4 – were standing) at the back of the house, holding a ladder. A third man was at the top of the ladder, and a fourth inside the house: he (5 – was passing) furniture through the window to his partner, who (6 – was giving) it to his friends below. All four (7 – were working) quietly and efficiently, and the pile of furniture in the garden (8 – was getting) bigger by the minute. Derek (9 – could not) believe his eyes: the team of strangers (10 – was emptying) his entire flat, and they (11 – were behaving) as if this was the most normal thing in the world. He (12 – coughed) loudly, and then (13 – said) “Excuse me!” – and the man at the top of the ladder (14 – dropped) his portable TV onto the concrete below.

In this exercise, we need to fill in the blanks with the appropriate verbs in either the Past Simple or Past Continuous tense.

1. "stopped" - This is in the Past Simple tense because it describes a completed action.
2. "happened" - This is in the Past Simple tense because it describes a completed action.
3. "looked" - This is in the Past Simple tense because it describes a completed action.
4. "were standing" - This is in the Past Continuous tense because it describes an ongoing action in the past.
5. "was passing" - This is in the Past Continuous tense because it describes an ongoing action in the past.
6. "was giving" - This is in the Past Continuous tense because it describes an ongoing action in the past.
7. "were working" - This is in the Past Continuous tense because it describes an ongoing action in the past.
8. "was getting" - This is in the Past Continuous tense because it describes an ongoing action in the past.
9. "could not" - This is in the Past Simple tense because it describes a completed action.
10. "was emptying" - This is in the Past Continuous tense because it describes an ongoing action in the past.
11. "were behaving" - This is in the Past Continuous tense because it describes an ongoing action in the past.
12. "coughed" - This is in the Past Simple tense because it describes a completed action.
13. "said" - This is in the Past Simple tense because it describes a completed action.
14. "dropped" - This is in the Past Simple tense because it describes a completed action.

By using different tenses, we can convey different meanings and show the time relationships between different actions in the past. The Past Simple tense is used for completed actions, while the Past Continuous tense is used for ongoing actions in the past.