Mixed Past Tenses

Exercise 1: The Medina Mystery (Fill in the Blanks)

Complete the narrative by putting the verbs in brackets into the correct tense: Past Simple, Past Continuous, or Past Perfect.

              Last summer, Amina and her family decided to visit the ancient medina of Fez. By the time they arrived at Bab Boujloud, the sun 1. _______________ (already / begin) to set. While they 2. _______________ (walk) through the narrow, labyrinthine alleys, a local artisan 3. _______________ (call) out to them to showcase his hand-woven carpets.

            Amina’s father realized he 4. _______________ (forget) his wallet at the hotel, so they had to stop. Luckily, while they 5. _______________ (wait) near a traditional fountain, Amina’s brother found some extra cash in his backpack. They bought a beautiful small rug, and by the time they finally 6. _______________ (leave) the shop, the moon 7. _______________ (rise) high over the minarets.

Exercise 2: Error Correction

Each of the following sentences about Eid preparations contains one grammatical error regarding past tenses. Find the mistake, underline it, and write the correct form.

1. Yesterday at noon, Myriam cooked the couscous while her father was preparing the mint tea.

• Correction: __________________________________________________

2. Before the guests arrived for dinner, we already cleaned the entire living room.

• Correction: __________________________________________________

3. Youssef was eating three pieces of chebakia before he realized he was on a diet.

• Correction: __________________________________________________

4. While the family had watched the traditional Gnaoua performance, it started to rain.

• Correction: __________________________________________________

Exercise 3: Creative Sentence Building

Combine the two clues provided into a single sentence using the connector in brackets. You must use the correct past tenses (Past Simple, Past Continuous, or Past Perfect) to show the right sequence of events.

1. The henna artist finish the intricate design / The bride look in the mirror (After)

______________________________________________________________________

2. Karim hike up Mount Toubkal / He lose his favorite sunglasses (While)

______________________________________________________________________

3. The train reach the Oasis station in Marrakech / The passengers buy their mint tea (Before)

______________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4: Be the Storyteller (Creative Writing)

Write a short paragraph (4–5 sentences) to complete the story. You must use at least one Past Simple, one Past Continuous, and one Past Perfect verb.

Scenario: Last night, right in the middle of a massive family Aqiqa (baby celebration), the electricity suddenly went out across the entire neighborhood _________________________________________

 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________