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Past continuous Exercises

( Free Online English Grammar Lessons )

Read time : 2 minutes

Past Continuous Form : ( Was / were + verb -ing )

In English we use the past continuous to talk about an action taking place during a period of time in the past. We usually use it with past simple.

The table below shows the different forms of past continuous :

Example verb : study	I / He / She / It	You / We / They
Positive	... was studying.	... were studying.
Negative	... wasn't studying.	... weren't studying.
Questions	Was ... studying?	Were ... studying?
Short answers	Yes, ... was. / No, ... wasn't.	Yes, ... were. / No, ... weren't.

In English we use the past continuous to show that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the past simple. This can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Past Continuous Examples Sentences :

Positive Examples of Past Continuous :

I was cooking dinner when she phoned.
While we were cycling in the park, it started to rain.
While Alex was exercising, someone stole his bike.

Negative Examples of Past Continuous :

You were not listening to the teacher when she gave us our homework.
He wasn't paying attention when the fire alarm went off.
We weren't watching the film during the scary parts.

Question Examples of Past Continuous :

What were you doing when you had the car accident?
What were you doing when the police turned up?
Where was he living when the attack happened in London?

In English we can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples Sentences :

Last night at 6 PM, I was travelling home.
At midnight, I was still studying for my exam.
Yesterday at this time, I was sitting on a beach in Australia.

When you use the past continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it means that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples Sentences :

I was swimming while he was sunbathing.
While Emily was cooking, Brian was doing his homework.
Were you listening when I was speaking to you?
They were sitting by the pool, sipping cocktails, and talking about life.

Past continuous example sentences
You were saying something about the wardrobe before.	Antes habías dicho algo sobre el armario.
Yeah... What was I saying?	Sí... ¿Qué estaba diciendo?
I was also training new workers how to make coffee.	También enseñaba cómo hacer café a los nuevos trabajadores.
It sounds like she was having a mental breakdown.	Suena a que está teniendo una crisis emocional.
I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms!	¡Estaba pensando en sofreír unos pimientos verdes y unos champiñones!
The other day, you complained about how loud I was snoring.	El otro día, te quejaste de lo ruidosa que soy cuando ronco.
When I came, you were at the bar getting yourself a beer.	Cuando vine estabas en el bar, buscando una cerveza.
How did you know you were knocking on the right door?	¿Cómo sabías que estabas llamando a la puerta correcta?
Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night.	De acuerdo, para resumir, anoche yo estaba cocinando unas papas fritas.
Yes, sorry, I was thinking of getting stock powder at the shop.	Sí, perdona, estaba pensando en comprar polvo de caldo en la tienda.
She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook.	Ella estaba en la cocina, también, preparando algo para cocinar.
The only smoke I could see was coming out of her ears.	El único humo que podía ver era el que salía de sus orejas.
No, I wasn't interested at all, I was just trying to be nice to her.	No, no estaba para nada interesada, sólo intentaba ser amable con ella.
Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night!	Oh, ya veo, ¡estaba hablando sobre eso anoche!
I was just trying to be more realistic!	¡Sólo estaba intentando ser más realista!
I was wondering where that chorizo smell was coming from.	Me preguntaba de dónde venía el olor a chorizo.
Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything!	Sí, no era solo por Pogo, ¡se estaba quejando de todo!
I hope you weren't looking for something urgently!	¡Espero que no estés buscando por una casa urgentemente!
First she started to mumble about how long my cooking was taking.	Primero empezó a murmurar sobre cuánto estaba tardando yo en cocinar.
Hm, why was he begging the fairy to turn him into a real kid then?	Hm, ¿entonces por qué le ruega al hada que lo convierta en un niño de verdad?

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