Question

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tenses: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous. Use used to or would in front of the verb where possible: Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in 1889 in London. He (1)… (have) a very difficult childhood. As a boy, Charlie (2) … (work) to earn his living, and before he was fifteen, he (3) … (see) his mother from backstage while she (4) … (perform) and it was then that he first (5) … (think) about taking up such a career for himself. When Chaplin (6) … (tour) the US twice with the famous Fred Karno group, he was headhunted by the American Keystone film company. He (7) … (work) for them for three years before he discovered he could direct for himself. Along with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, Chaplin (8) … (form) United Artists in 1919, with whom he (9) … (make) most of his classic films. He (10) … (appear) in his first talking film, The Great Dictator, in 1940. In 1952, after McCarthy’s Commission (11) … (accuse) him of communist sympathies he (12) …(emigrate) to Switzerland, where he (13) … (live) with his family until his death in 1977.

Answer 1

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in 1889 in London. He (1)… (had) a very difficult childhood. As a boy, Charlie (2) … (worked) to earn his living, and before he was fifteen, he (3) … (saw) his mother from backstage while she (4) … (was performing) and it was then that he first (5) … (though) about taking up such a career for himself.
When Chaplin (6) … (was touring) the US twice with the famous Fred Karno group, he was headhunted by the American Keystone film company. He (7) … (had worked) for them for three years before he discovered he could direct for himself.
Along with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, Chaplin (8) … (formed) United Artists in 1919, with whom he (9) … (made) most of his classic films. He (10) … (appeared) in his first talking film, The Great Dictator, in 1940.
In 1952, after McCarthy’s Commission (11) … (accused) him of communist sympathies he (12) …(emigrated) to Switzerland, where he (13) … (lived) with his family until his death in 1977.

Answer 2

Past Tense Usage for Charles Spencer Chaplin

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in 1889 in London. He had a very difficult childhood. As a boy, Charlie worked to earn his living, and before he was fifteen, he had seen his mother from backstage while she was performing and it was then that he first thought about taking up such a career for himself. When Chaplin was touring the US twice with the famous Fred Karno group, he was headhunted by the American Keystone film company. He worked for them for three years before he discovered he could direct for himself. Along with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, Chaplin formed United Artists in 1919, with whom he made most of his classic films. He appeared in his first talking film, The Great Dictator, in 1940. In 1952, after McCarthy’s Commission accused him of communist sympathies he emigrated to Switzerland, where he lived with his family until his death in 1977.

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