Past Continuous

PAST CONTINUOUS

tense

WHEN TO USE?

Actions that were ongoing at a specific time in the past.

Actions that were interrupted by another action in the past.

Two or more simultaneous actions happening in the past.

​We use the Past Continuous Tense to talk about:

Affirmative

For all subjects, the verb takes -ing.

+was+ eating.

We
You + were+ eating.
They

I
He
She
It

Multiple Choice

In the Past continuous the verb TO BE is ...

• am
• be
• is
• was or were

Multiple Choice

Complete with the Past contnuous:

Jimmy _____ _______ soccer with his friends.

• were play

• was played

• was playing

Multiple Choice

Complete with the Past continuous:

Susan and Tim _____ _______ to their first day of school.

• was go

• were went

• were going

For all subjects, the verb takes -ing.

+wasn’t+ eating.

We
You + weren’t+ eating.
They

I
He
She
It

Negative

Multiple Choice

Complete with the Past continuous:My sister ___________ with her friends when I came. She was planting a flower.

• wasn’t playing

• weren’t playing

• weren’t played

• was played

Multiple Choice

Complete with the Past continuous:

You _____________ last night.

• wasn't studying

• wasn't study

• weren't studying

• weren't study

Fill in the Blank

Complete with the Past continuous:

Julie _________ (sleep) at three o'clock.

Multiple Choice

Complete with the Past continuous:

______ it ________ last week?

• Was / snowing

• Were / snowing

• Was / snow

• Were / snow

Was + + eating?

we
Were+ you + eating?
they

I
he
she

it

For all subjects, the verb takes -ing.

Interrogative

Multiple Choice

Was mum working at home?

• Yes, she was

• Yes, they were

• Yes, I was

Multiple Choice

Choose the question that is correctly written in past continuous

• Was grandma watering the plants?

• Were grandma water the plants?

• Was watering the plants grandma?

Multiple Choice

Choose the question that is correctly written in past continuous

• You were watching TV this morning

• Were you watching TV this morning?

• Was you watch TV this morning?

For verbs ending in e, drop the "e" and add -ing.

make

take

write

making

taking

writing

For one-syllable verbs ending in a consonant + vowel + consonant,
double the final consonant and add -ing.

sit

run

plan

sitting

running

planning

ATTENTION!

For verbs ending in ie, change the "ie" to "y" and add -ing.

tie

die

lie

tying

dying

lying

For verbs ending in c, add "k" before adding -ing.

picnic

panic

mimic

picnicking

panicking

mimicking

Multiple Choice

We use Past Continuous to talk about finished actions in the past.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

We use Past Continuous to talk about actions in progress in the past.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

We form Past Simple affirmative sentences:

was/were + verb+ing

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

We form Past Simple negative sentences:

didn’t + verb+ed

• True

• False

while
when
at (specific time)
all day / morning / night
as

Example:I was reading a book when the phone rang.

Time expressions