Online English private lessons and group courses with native speakers.

Click now to take advantage of discounts up to 50%.

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 : studyI / He / She / ItYou / We / They
Positive... was studying.... were studying.
Negative... wasn't studying.... weren't studying. 
QuestionsWas ... 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
Really? What was she saying?अच्छा? वो क्या कह रही थी?
I think she definitely understood I was lying!मुझे लगता है वो निश्चित रूप से समझ गयी कि मैं झूठ बोल रही हूँ!
And the girls were too busy ordering.और लड़कियां ऑर्डर करने में व्यस्त थीं।
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine!शुक्र है कि तुम रेड वाइन नहीं ढूंढ रही थी!
I can't believe it, I was planning to sleep till 9 today!मुझे भरोसा नहीं हो रहा, आज मैं 9 बजे तक सोने का सोच रही थी!
Hm, why was he begging the fairy to turn him into a real kid then?हम्म, तो फिर वो परी से उसे असली लड़के में बदलने की भीख क्यों मांग रहा था?
I was planning on cooking some meat, originally.असल में, मैं मीट बनाने के बारे में सोच रहा था।
Yeah... What was I saying?हाँ... तो मैं क्या कह रहा था?
The other day, you complained about how loud I was snoring.उस दिन, तुम शिकायत कर रहे थे कि मैं कितनी जोर से खर्राटे लेती हूँ।
Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything!हाँ, वो केवल पोगों के बारे में नहीं बोल रही थी, वो लगभग सभी चीजों के बारे में शिकायत कर रही थी!
I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms!मैं कुछ लाल शिमला मिर्च और मशरूम भूनने के बारे में सोच रहा था!
Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night.ठीक है, तो थोड़े में कहानी बताता हूँ, मैं कल रात थोड़े चिप्स बना रहा था।
She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook.वो भी रसोईघर में कुछ बनाने की तैयारी कर रही थी।
I hope you weren't looking for something urgently!मुझे उम्मीद है कि आप तुरंत के लिए घर नहीं खोज रही हैं!
It sounds like she was having a mental breakdown.ऐसा लगता है उसे मानसिक आघात लगा था।
I was wondering where that chorizo smell was coming from.वही मैं सोच रहा था कि कोरिज़ो की महक कहाँ से आ रही है।
And you pretended you didn't know I was living here.और तुमने ऐसे दिखाया जैसे तुम्हें पता ही नहीं है कि मैं यहाँ रहती हूँ।
I thought Diego was taking you somewhere.मुझे लगा डिएगो तुम्हें कहीं ले जा रहा था।
But I don't know where he was getting it from.लेकिन मुझे नहीं पता वो इसे कहाँ से लेता था।
I was just trying to be more realistic!मैं बस ज्यादा असली लगने की कोशिश कर रही थी!

\
500\
\
\

There are no comments yet. Be the first one...
Be going to
Be going to passive
Be used to / Get used to
Comparative
Defining relative clause
Echo tag
Expression
First conditional
Future
Future continuous
Future perfect continuous
Future perfect passive
Future perfect simple
Future simple passive
Greeting
Have/Get something done
Imperative
Implied conditional
Indirect question
Infinitive of purpose
Interjection
Mixed conditional
Modal
Modal passive
Non-defining relative clause
Other
Past continuous
Past continuous passive
Past perfect continuous
Past perfect passive
Past perfect simple
Past simple
Past simple passive
Polite request / offer / suggestion
Present continuous
Present continuous passive
Present perfect continuous
Present perfect passive
Present perfect simple
Present simple
Present simple passive
Question tag
Reduced relative clause
Reported speech imperative
Reported speech question
Reported speech request
Reported speech statement
Second conditional
Short answer
Superlative
Third conditional
Used to / would (past habit)
Was/were going to
Was/were supposed to
Wish
Would rather
Zero conditional