Choose the correct variant. I _______ (run) when I _______ (meet) Tom.

Hello, students! Let's analyze the sentence and choose the correct tenses to fill in the blanks. The sentence describes an action that was in progress when another action interrupted it. Therefore, we need to use the Past Continuous for the first blank (an action in progress) and the Past Simple for the second blank (an interrupting action). So, the correct answer is: * I **was running** when I **met** Tom. Here's why the other options are incorrect: * **ran; met**: This suggests two consecutive completed actions, but the context implies that one action was already happening when the other started. * **ran; was meeting**: This implies that meeting Tom was in progress when you ran, which doesn't make sense in the given context. * **was running; was meeting**: This suggests both actions were in progress at the same time, which is not the intended meaning. So, the correct choice is "was running; met". Therefore, the complete sentence is: "I was running when I met Tom." Answer: **was running; met**