Past Continuous

It is commonly used in English for actions which were going on (had not finished) at a particular
time in the past.

1. Forming the past continuous tense

This tense was formed using two components: the verb BE (in the past tense), and the -ING form of a
verb. Here are the rules, using the example verb "sing":
Subject BE -ING Form
I
was singing
You
were singing
He
was singing
She
was singing
It
was singing
We
were singing
They were singing

Past Progressive - Spelling

Be careful with some words when adding -ing to the infinitive.

1) consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word

Double the consonant.
sit he was sitting
put - he was putting

2) one -e at the end of the word

Leave out the -e.
write he was writing
take he was taking
BUT:
double e: add -ing
see he was seeing

3) verbs ending in -ie

Change 'ie' to 'y'.
lie - he was lying

4) verbs ending in -c
Change 'c' to 'ck'.
picnic - he was picnicking

Exercises
1. Write the ing form of the verbs.
1. live ____________________
2. stay ____________________
3. run ____________________
4. win ____________________
5. cycle ____________________
6. share __________________
7. tidy __________________
8. shut __________________
9. dial __________________
10. lie __________________
11. phone _________________
12. fly _________________
13. swim _________________
14. chat _________________
15. die _________________
2. Complete the table in past progressive.
positive
negative

question

It was raining.
They were not playing.
Was I listening?
Caron was not eating.
You were singing.
They were not chatting.
Was the couple kissing?
They were complaining.
It was not getting dark.
Bob was studying.
He was shouting.
They were not talking.
Were you reading?
Brad was not waiting.
Diana was laughing.

3. Was or Were?
1. We _________ dancing.
2. The dog ________barking.
3. The printer _______printing out a photograph.
4. The pupils ________writing a test.
5. Sue and Gareth ________walking up the hill.
6. The pirates ________fighting for the treasure.
7. We ________discussing the problem.
8. The candle ________burning.
9. The cat ________chasing the mice.
10. The mice________ running away from the cat.
11. I ________having dinner.
12. You________rushing down the street.
13. The birds ________sitting in the tree.
14. The teacher ________pointing to the board.
15. The water ________dripping on the floor.
4. Write sentences in past progressive.
1. he / the car / wash ____________________________________
2. she / home / go ____________________________________
3. they / not / the match / watch ____________________________________
4. you / in the shop / work ____________________________________
5. I / not / a magazine / read ____________________________________
6. We / feed / the birds ____________________________________
7. Jenny / ride / a horse ____________________________________
8. my parents / not / eating / at a restaurant ____________________________________
9. James and Phil / build / a tree house ____________________________________
10. their mother / not / cook / dinner ____________________________________
5. Write questions in past progressive.
1. she / on a chair / sit ____________________________________
2. you / your bag / pack ____________________________________
3. his head / ache ____________________________________
4. we / tea / drink ____________________________________
5. you / the bike / repair ____________________________________
6. Jane / tidy / her room __________________________________
7. Brendan / drive / a lorry ________________________________

8. Sue and Jane / sell / fruits ________________________________

9. the pupils / write / a test ________________________________
10. your little sister / cry ________________________________
6. Ask for the information in the bold part of the sentence.
1. Jamie was doing a language course in London.
____________________________________
2. Andrew was carrying a heavy box. ____________________________________
3. The teacher was testing our English. ____________________________________
4. At six o'clock, we were having dinner. ____________________________________
5. Sally was hurrying to school because she was late.
____________________________________
6. Misses Bush was correcting our tests. ________________________________
7. An hour ago, Carol was talking on the phone. ________________________________
8. Avril was painting the kitchen. ________________________________
9. Katie was sitting in the living room. ________________________________
10. The children were running around noisily. ________________________________
Homework
Write sentences in past progressive.
1. the snowman / melt / in the sun ________________________________
2. we / explore / a new territory ________________________________
3. the secretary / print out / a document ________________________________
4. the girls / not / concentrate / on the task ________________________________
5. Garth / not / practise / on the piano ________________________________
Write questions in past progressive.
1. Jill / dance ________________________________
2. your cousins / swim / in the lake ________________________________
3. the student / answer / a question ________________________________
4. William / play / the guitar ________________________________
5. Janet / sit / on the bench ________________________________
Ask for the information in the bold part of the sentence.
1. At a quarter past six, Phil was translating the document.
_______________________________
2. Sheila was waiting in the park. ________________________________
3. The pupils were talking about the United States. ________________________________
4. The boss was dictating a letter. ________________________________

5. Barbara was looking for her necklace. ________________________________

7. Put in the verb in brackets into the gaps and form affirmative sentences.
Example: Eddie __________ a comic. (to read)
Answer: Eddie was reading a comic.
1) She ________________hockey. (to play)
2) They ________________ in the pool. (to swim)
3) It ________________ (to rain)
4) We ________________to music. (to listen)
5) The mobile ________________ (to ring)
6) The students ________________ (to text)
7) Max ________________ with two girls. (to dance)
8) I ________________ in front of the shop. (to wait)
9) The cat ________________ in the basket. (to sleep)
10) He ________________ Gerry's bike. (to repair)

1) I ________________to my friend. (to talk)

2) He ________________the beds. (to make)
3) The boys ________________the parrots. (to feed)
4) We ________________ breakfast at 5:30 this morning. (to have)
5) She ________________a nice skirt. (to wear)
6) Tom's younger brother ________________ (to cry)
7) You ________________photos with my new camera, weren't you? (to take)
8) My father ________________ vegetables at the supermarket. (to buy)
9) They ________________ on the sofa. (to sit)
10) Robert ________________ on the beach. (to lie)