Complete the sentences by putting the verbs in each group into the Past Simple, the Past Continuous or the Past Perfect.

1. a) Paul was making a phone call when I went into his office. b) Paul had some coffee first and then he made some phone calls. c) Paul had made twenty phone calls by the time he left the office for the day. 2. a) As it was getting dark, the boys decided to go home. b) When it got dark, all the lights in the park went on creating a beautiful atmosphere. c) By the time the boys decided to return home, it had got so dark that they needed a torch to find their way. 3. a) Dr Stephens was performing an experiment while his students were watching him. b) Dr Stephens had performed a lot of experiments before he made an important discovery. c) Two weeks ago Dr Stephens performed an experiment with the help of some university students. 4. a) The baby fell asleep as soon as we put her in her bed. b) As the baby was falling asleep, she was making some funny sounds. c) The baby had fallen asleep by the time he got home and he didn’t want to wake her up. 5. a) Laura was reading the report many times before she gave it to her boss. b) While Laura was reading the report, her computer started making strange noises and stopped working. c) Laura had read the report, switched off her computer, and went home.