PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

Positive/Negative

Question

I was(not)
He
She was(not)
It
You
We were(not)
They

Was

sleeping at 9

I
he
Was she
it
you
Were we
they

Wh- question
Wh- was

sleeping at 9?

I
he
Wh- was she
it
you
Wh- were we
they

sleeping?

1)I was watching TV at 4 yesterday afternoon.

2)What were you doing in the park yesterday afternoon?
3)We were preparing a project at this time yesterady afternoon.
4)Was Tom working at the factory yesterday evening?
5)I was preparing a project when you called me.
6)The telephone rang while I was sleeping.

Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with was/were + verb +ing and translate them into Turkish.
1)I....(have) a shower at 7 this morning.

2)What...you.(do) yesterday evening?

3)We.(watch) TV at 7 yesterday evening.

4)Liz.(clean) the house yeterday afternoon.

5)I..(leave) the office when you called me.

6)While Jane was listening to music, her husband(read) a book.

7).you.(shop) when you met Liz?

8)We met Tom while we...(walk) in the park.

9)The lectricity went out while I..(watch) the match on TV:

10)Whatyou...(do) at this time(bu zamanlar) yesterday evening?

Exercise 2: Translate the sentences into Turkish.

1)While Mike was walking to his office, he met Jane.

2)When Mike met Jane he was walking to his office.

3)Mike met Jane, while he was walking to his office.

4)Mike was walking to his office when he met Jane.

5)When they arrived, we were cooking.

6)While we were cooking, they arrived.

7)They arrived while we were cooking.

8)We were cooking when they arrived.

9)While the secretary was writing the report, the boss came in.

10)The secretary was writing the report when the boss came in.

11)They broke the window while they were playing.

12)When they broke the window, they were playing football.

13)I had an accident while I was travelling to Antalya.

14)I was travelling to Antalya when I had an acciednt.

15)Tom was shopping when I saw him yesterday.

16)I saw Tom while Tom was shopping?

17)What were you doing at 5 when I called you?

18)When I entered the room, Liz was talking with Jane.

19)Fatma cut(kesmek) her finger while she was preparing dinner.

20)Fatma was preparing dinner when she cut her finger.

21)Were you sleeping when the earthquake(deprem) happened(olmak)?

22)What were you doing when the earthquake happened?

23)They were having breakfast when we arrived at home.

24)While they were having breakfast, we arrived at home.

When & While

a)When + simple past, Past cont.tense./Or

Short action
Long action
When he came, I was reading a book.
Short action
Long action

Or

b)While + past cont.tense, simple past./Or

Past cont. tense

Long action

when + simple past tense

short action

I was reading a book

Long action
Simple past tense

when he came.
short action
while + past cont. tense
2

Long action
short action
While I was reading a book, he came. / Or

Short action
long action
He came while I was reading a book

Examples:
Tom watched TV.The electricity went out.
When the electricity went out,Tom was watching TV.
Tom was watching TV when the electricity went out.
While Tom was watching TV, the electricity went out.
The electricity went out while Tom was watching TV.
Exercise 3: Change the sentences.
1)Mike met Jane.He walked to his office.
a)While Mike was walking to his office, he.................................................................................
b)When Mike.. he was walking to his office.
c)Mike met Jane, while he............................................................................................................
d)Mike.............................................................................................................when he met Jane.
2)We cooked.They arrived.
a)While we.............................................................................................................., they arrived.
b)They.................................................................while ...............................................................
c)When they arrived, we..............................................................................................................
d)We were cooking when they.....................................................................................................
3)The secretary wrote the report.The boss came in.
a)While the secretary.............................................................................., the boss came in.
b)When the boss came in, the secretary........................................................................................
c)The boss.. while the secretary was writing the report.
d)While the secretary was writing the report, the boss..
4)They broke the window.They played football.
a)While they........................................................................................, they broke the window.
b)They were playing football when they
c)When they broke the window, they...................................................................
d)They broke the window while they.
5)I had an accident.I travelled to Antalya.
a)I had an accident while I
b)Iwhen I had an accident.
c)When I.., I was travelling to Antalya.
d)While I was travelling to Antalya, I..
Exercise 4: Change the sentences.

Jane
1)8.45-9.15:had breakfast
2)9.15-10.00:read a newspaper
3)10.00-12.00:cleaned her flat
4)12.45-13.30:had lunch
5)14.30-15.30:washed
some
clothes
6)16.00-18.00:watched television
A)What was Jane doing?

I
1)9.00:got up
2)9.30:had breakfast
3)11.00:arrived at work
4)13.00:saw an old friend
5)15.00:fell off the ladder
6)17.00:fell asleep
B)What were you doing/What did you do?
3

1)at
2)at
3)at
4)at
5)at
6)at

9. oclock:She was having breakfast.

9.30 oclock:
11 oclock:
1 p.m.:
3 p.m.:
5 p.m.:

1)at
2)at
3)at
4)at
5)at
6)at

9.00: I got up
11.00:
1 p.m.:
3 p.m.:
3 p.m.:
5 p.m.:

B)What were they doing or what did they do?

1)Jane was having breakfast at 9 oclock when I got up.
2)When I got up at 9 oclock, Jane was having breakfast.
3)Jane was reading a newspaper 9.30 oclock while I.............................................................
4)When I...................................................................at 11 oclock, Jane was cleaning her flat.
5)I arrived at work at 11 oclock while Jane............................................................................
6)When I saw an old friend at 1 oclock, Jane.........................................................................
7)Janeat 1 oclock when I saw an old friend.
8)While Jane................................................................lunch at 1 oclock, I saw an old friend.
9)Jane was washing some clothes at 3 oclock when I.............................................................
10)While Jane................................................. some clothes at 3 oclock, I fell off the ladder.
11)I........................................ off the ladder at 3 oclock while Jane.........................................
12)I...............................................................asleep at 5 0clock while Jane was watching TV.
13)While Jane.................................................................................television at 5, I fell asleep.
14)When I fell asleep at 5 oclock, Jane....................................................................................
C)Answer the questions.
1)What was Jane doing at 9 oclock?...........................................................................................
2)What were you doing while Jane was having breakfast?..........................................................
3)Was Jane having breakfast at 9 oclock?...................................................................................
4)Who did you see at 9 oclock?...................................................................................................
5)What was Jane doing when you arrived at work at 11 oclock?................................................
6)What did you see at 1 oclock?..................................................................................................
7)What was Jane doing when you saw a friend at 1 oclock?......................................................
8)Did you see a friend at 1 oclock while Jane was having lunch?..............................................
9)What time did you see a friend?................................................................................................
10)What did you do while Jane was watching TV at 3 oclock?.................................................
11)What was Jane was doing at 3 oclock when you fell off the ladder?....................................
12)What time did you fall asleep?................................................................................................
13)Did you fall asleep at 5 oclock?.............................................................................................
14)What did you do at 5 oclock?.................................................................................................
15)What was Jane doing at 5 oclock when you fell asleep?........................................................
Exercise 5: Translate the sentences into English.
1)Dn akam bete fabrikada alyordum.
..........................................................................................................................................
2)Jane dn leden sonra alveri yapyordu.
..........................................................................................................................................
3)Sen dn akam evde ne yapyordun?
.........................................................................................................................................?
4)Dn saat 9da elektrik gitti.Ben TV seyrediyordum.
..........................................................................................................................................
5)Ben dn saat 9da TV seyrediyorken, elektrik gitti.
..........................................................................................................................................
6)Dn saat 9da elektrik gittii zaman, ben evde TV seyrediyordum.
..........................................................................................................................................
7)Dn saat 5te Tom ile karlatm.Ben broya yryordum.
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..........................................................................................................................................
8)Dn Tom ile karlatm zaman, broya yryordum.
..........................................................................................................................................
9)Dn leden sonra broya yryorken, Tom ile karlatm.
..........................................................................................................................................
10)Dn saat 7de eve vardm.Onlar akam yemei yiyorlard.
..........................................................................................................................................
11) Dn saat 7de eve vardm zaman, onlar akam yemei yiyorlard.
..........................................................................................................................................
12)Dn onlar akam yemei yiyorlarken, ben eve vardm.
..........................................................................................................................................
13)Patron broya vard zaman, sekreter raporu hazrlyordu.
..........................................................................................................................................
14)Patron broya vard zaman, sekreter ne yapyordu?
..........................................................................................................................................
15)retmen ieri girdii zaman sen ne yapyordun?
...................................................................................................................................................
.
16)Deprem olduu(happen) zaman, uyuyordum.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
17)Dn alveri yaparken John ile karlatm.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
18)Jane salata yaparken, elini kesti.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
19)Eve vardm zaman, akam yemei yiyorlard.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
20)Dn leden sonra broda alyor muydun?
...................................................................................................................................................
.
21)Dn biz evden ayrldmz zaman yamur yayordu.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
22)A:Dn seni saat bete aradm. Cevap vermedin. Ne
yapyordun?
............................................................................................................................
....................
B:Du alyordum.Bu yzden duymadm.
................................................................................................................................................
23)Oraya vardm zaman beni iten bir ekilde(cordially) karladlar(welcome).
...................................................................................................................................................
.
24)Elektrik gittii zaman,ngilizce alyordum.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
25)Tom aaca trmanrken dt.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
26)Baz misafirler dans ederken, dierleri mzik dinliyorlard.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
27)Tom hapishaneden kaarken(escape), bir polis onu vurdu(shoot).
5

...................................................................................................................................................
.
28)Jane ile konuurken, ona srrm(secret) sylemeyi unuttum(forget).
...................................................................................................................................................
.
29)Norma elini yakt zaman(burn), akam yemei mi piiriyordu?
..................................................................................................................................................?
30)Dn bir grlt(noise) duyduum zaman, kitap okuyordum.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
31)Kaza olduu zaman hzl araba kullanmyordum.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
32)Ben bakmyorken, fotorafm ekti(take my photograph).
...................................................................................................................................................
.
33)Carol partide grdm.Gzel bir elbise giyiyordu.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
34)Dn bulaklar ykyorken, bir tabak(plate) elimden kayd(slip out of my hand) ve krld.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
35)Ben geen yl bu zamanlar(This time last year) ngilterede yayordum.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
36)Telefon ald(ring) zaman, uyuyordum.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
37)Bu sabah saat yedide kahvalt yaparken, annem beni arad.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
38)Polis gizlice binann iine szarken(sneak into),terristler bir plan iziyorlard.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
39)Biz mzik dinlerken, Jane ve Tom dans ediyorlard.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
40)Ahmet merdivenden dt zaman,tavan boyuyordu.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
41)Dar kmadk nk yamur yayordu.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
42)Dn bu zamanlar ne yapyordun?
..................................................................................................................................................?
43)Otobs beklerken, kazay grdk.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
44)Beni aradn zaman, dar kmaya hazrlanyordum(get ready to go out).
...................................................................................................................................................
.
45)Dn bir lk(scream) duyduum zaman, yatakta(in bed) bir kitap okuyordum.
...................................................................................................................................................
.
46)Mustafa dn sarhotu(drunk).O televizyon izlerken, uykuya dald(fall asleep).
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.