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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
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine!	Ainda bem que você não estava comprando vinho tinto!
I think she definitely understood I was lying!	Acho que ela percebeu que eu estava mentindo!
Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night!	Oh, estou vendo, ela estava falando nisso a noite passada!
And the girls were too busy ordering.	E as raparigas estavam muito ocupadas pedindo.
You were saying something about the wardrobe before.	Você estava dizendo algo sobre o roupeiro antes.
Alright Nick, what were you saying?	Muito bem, Nick, o que você estava dizendo?
When I came, you were at the bar getting yourself a beer.	Quando eu cheguei, você estava no bar pedindo uma cerveja para você.
The only smoke I could see was coming out of her ears.	O único fumo que podia ver estava saindo de seus ouvidos.
How did you know you were knocking on the right door?	Como você sabia que estava batendo na porta certa?
Hm, why was he begging the fairy to turn him into a real kid then?	Hum, então por que é que ele pediu à fada para o transformar em um garoto verdadeiro?
Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night.	Muito bem, em suma, eu estava fritando umas batatas a noite passada.
Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything!	Sim, não era só o Pogo, ela estava se queixando de tudo!
First she started to mumble about how long my cooking was taking.	Primeiro, ela começou resmungando sobre o tempo que eu estava demorando a cozinhar.
Yes, I already made myself a coffee while you were sleeping.	Sim, eu já preparei um café para mim quando você estava dormindo.
No, I wasn't interested at all, I was just trying to be nice to her.	Não, não estava de todo interessada, só estava a tentar ser simpática para ela.
I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms!	Estava planejando saltear pimentos vermelhos e cogumelos!
That's what I was planning.	Era o que estava planeando fazer.
And you pretended you didn't know I was living here.	E você fingiu não saber que eu estava vivendo aqui.
I was just trying to be more realistic!	Eu estava tentando ser mais realista!
She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook.	Ela também estava na cozinha, preparando algo para comer.

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