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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
I was planning on cooking some meat, originally.	そもそも僕は今日お肉を料理するつもりだったんだ。
Yeah... What was I saying?	それで、何の話をしてたんだっけ？
I hope you weren't looking for something urgently!	あなたのお部屋探し、急ぎじゃなければいいけど！
It sounds like she was having a mental breakdown.	彼女、ノイローゼか何かだったんじゃないかしら。
Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night.	分かった、かいつまんで話すよ。昨晩、僕はチップスを揚げてたんだ。
Yes, I already made myself a coffee while you were sleeping.	えぇ、もう自分でコーヒー作ったの、あなたが寝ている間に。
You were saying something about the wardrobe before.	前に衣装ダンスのことで何か言ってたよね。
I was wondering where that chorizo smell was coming from.	このチョリソーの香りはどこから来てるんだろう。
The other day, you complained about how loud I was snoring.	いつか、私のいびきがうるさいって文句言ってたじゃない。
I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms!	僕はいくつかの唐辛子とマッシュルームを炒めるつもりだったよ！
And you pretended you didn't know I was living here.	しかも私がいることも知らないふりしてたのね。
Noone was paying attention to your "precious" bag.	だれも君の大切なバッグに注意していなかったよ。
Hm, why was he begging the fairy to turn him into a real kid then?	それじゃあ、ピノキオが妖精に自分を本当の男の子にしてと頼んだのはどうしてだい？
I was just trying to be more realistic!	少しでもリアルにしようとしただけよ！
Alright Nick, what were you saying?	おいニック。何を言ったんだよ？
No, I wasn't interested at all, I was just trying to be nice to her.	ううん、これっぽっちも興味なんてなかったわよ。あの人に愛想よくしてただけ。
Once when Bear was little, we were walking along a dark street...	かつてベアが小さかった頃、暗いストリートを歩いていたんだ。
I think she definitely understood I was lying!	彼女、私が嘘ついてるって絶対に分かってるわよ！
Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night!	ああ、なるほど。彼女、昨晩そのことを話してたよ！
That's what I was planning.	そのつもりだったよ。

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