Yesterday my Mum, Dad and I ______ ( to go) to Covent Garden.While my parents ____( to shop), I _____...

To complete the exercise, you need to decide whether to use the Past Simple or the Past Progressive tense for each verb in brackets. Here is the expanded explanation along with the correct forms of the verbs:

1. Yesterday my Mum, Dad and I went (to go) to Covent Garden.

   • "Went" is in the Past Simple because it's a completed action that happened at a specific time in the past.

2. While my parents were shopping (to shop), I was watching (to watch) the Street actors' performance.

   • "Were shopping" and "was watching" are in the Past Progressive because they describe actions that were ongoing at a specific moment in the past.

3. The performance was great! The pantomime actors and the jugglers entertained (to entertain) the people around for two hours.

   • "Entertained" is in the Past Simple because it describes a completed action in the past.

4. While one man in a bright cap was playing (to play) the violin, the juggler was juggling (to juggle) six big balls and the pantomime actor was standing (to stand) like a statue.

   • "Was playing," "was juggling," and "was standing" are in the Past Progressive because these actions were happening simultaneously over a period of time.

5. The people were laughing (to laugh) while the clowns were doing (to do) silly things.

   • "Were laughing" and "were doing" are in the Past Progressive because these actions were happening at the same time in the past.

6. When my parents arrived (to arrive), one of the actors was showing (to show) tricks.

   • "Arrived" is in the Past Simple to indicate the specific moment when the parents came. "Was showing" is in the Past Progressive to describe the ongoing action at that moment.

7. We left (to leave) the performance while the people around were singing (to sing) together with the street actors.

   • "Left" is in the Past Simple because it marks the completion of the action. "Were singing" is in the Past Progressive to indicate the action that was happening at that time.

These choices reflect how the Past Simple is used for actions that are completed and occurred at a specific time, while the Past Progressive is used for actions that were ongoing at a particular time in the past.

Yesterday my Mum, Dad and I went (Past Simple) to Covent Garden. While my parents were shopping (Past Progressive), I watched (Past Simple) the Street actors' performance. The performance was great! The pantomime actors and the jugglers were entertaining (Past Progressive) the people around for two hours. While one man in a bright cap was playing (Past Progressive) the violin, the juggler was juggling (Past Progressive) six big balls and the pantomime actor was standing (Past Progressive) like a statue. The people were laughing (Past Progressive) while the clowns were doing (Past Progressive) silly things. When my parents arrived (Past Simple), one of the actors showed (Past Simple) tricks. We left (Past Simple) the performance while the people around were singing (Past Progressive) together with the street actors.

Yesterday my Mum, Dad and I went to Covent Garden. While my parents were shopping, I watched the Street actors' performance. The performance was great! The pantomime actors and the jugglers were entertaining the people around for two hours. While one man in a bright cap played the violin, the juggler was juggling six big balls and the pantomime actor was standing like a statue. The people laughed while the clowns were doing silly things. When my parents arrived, one of the actors showed tricks. We left the performance while the people around were singing together with the street actors.