Past Tenses

1. While I was walking to school, it started to rain. (Past Continuous describes an action in progress in the past when another action interrupted it.)
2. By the time we arrived at the station, the train had already left. (Past Simple for the first action completed, Past Perfect for the action completed before another in the past.)
3. When I woke up, my parents had already gone to work. (Past Simple for the first action, Past Perfect for the action completed before it.)
4. We were watching a movie when the power went out. (Past Continuous to describe an action in progress, Past Simple for the interrupting action.)
5. He hasn't seen his best friend since they left school. (Present Perfect is used to describe a situation that started in the past and continues to the present, Past Simple for the action of leaving school.)
6. While Sarah was reading a book, her brother was playing video games. (Past Continuous describes two actions happening simultaneously in the past.)
7. They had finished dinner before we got there. (Past Perfect for the action completed before another in the past, Past Simple for the second action.)
8. The teacher had already started the lesson when I entered the classroom. (Past Perfect for the action completed before another, Past Simple for the second action.)
9. When she called me, I was driving to work. (Past Simple for the action of calling, Past Continuous for the action in progress at the time.)
10. By the time we arrived at the party, everyone had eaten all the food. (Past Simple for the first action, Past Perfect for the action completed before it.)