Past Continuous

Exercises

Affirmative, Negative, and Questions

Affirmative

• I was working at six o’clock.

• You were studying yesterday evening.

• They were watching a movie.

Negative

• I wasn’t working at six o’clock.

• She wasn’t drinking tea at 3 p.m.

• They weren’t watching the movie when you called.

Questions

• Was I working at six o’clock?

• Was she drinking tea?
  Were they watching the movie?

Grammar Form

Affirmative:

• I/He/She/It - was + verb-ing

• You/We/They - were + verb-ing

Negative:

• was/were + not + verb-ing

• was not = wasn’t, were not = weren’t

Questions:

• Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?

• Add a question word (QW) like what, when, where at the beginning:
  
  What was she doing?
  Where were they going?

Spelling of –ing forms

• enter - entering

• lie - lying

• take - taking

• run - running

• travel - travelling / traveling

When to Use Past Continuous

Actions in progress at a specific time in the past

• Yesterday at 10 p.m., I was climbing a tree.

• At 5 o’clock yesterday, my sister was flying from Sydney.

• She was still dancing at midnight.

Actions interrupted by another action (Past Simple + Past Continuous)

• She was cleaning the house when the phone rang.

• John was cooking when he cut his finger.

• Helen was using the blender, so she didn’t hear you come in.

Use while + Past Continuous or when + Past Simple:

• While I was typing, everyone left.

• I was eating soup when he came home.

Two or more actions happening at the same time

• She was doing her makeup while she was talking on the phone.

• We were eating pasta while we were watching a cartoon.

• The children were playing, eating sweets, and drinking cola.

Expressing irritation or disapproval (with always, often, constantly)

• He was always interrupting me when I was talking.

• She was constantly losing our keys on vacation.

• We were often waiting for his friend.

Planned actions that did not happen

• I was hoping to meet her, but she didn’t come.

• My mother was thinking of cooking a pie, but we wanted pizza.

• Tom was planning to buy tickets, but he forgot his wallet.

Time Expressions with Past Continuous

• at that moment

• at the same time

• while

• when

• as

• all morning / all night / all day / all evening

• last Monday / last week / last year