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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
Yes, I already made myself a coffee while you were sleeping.	Sì, mi sono già fatta un caffè mentre tu dormivi.
First she started to mumble about how long my cooking was taking.	Prima ha iniziato a mormorare di quanto ci mettevo a cucinare.
I was also training new workers how to make coffee.	Insegnavo anche ai nuovi dipendenti come fare il caffè.
The other day, you complained about how loud I was snoring.	L’altro giorno, ti sei lamentato di quanto russo forte.
Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night.	Ok, per farla breve, stavo cucinando delle patatine ieri sera.
Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything!	Già, non era solo Pogo, si lamentava di tutto quanto!
I was wondering where that chorizo smell was coming from.	Mi chiedevo da dove venisse quell'odore di chorizo.
And the girls were too busy ordering.	E le ragazze erano troppo occupate ad ordinare.
When I came, you were at the bar getting yourself a beer.	Quando sono arrivato eri bar, che ti prendevi una birra.
Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night!	Oh, capisco, ne parlava ieri sera!
I was just trying to be more realistic!	Stavo cercando di sembrare più realistica!
I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms!	Volevo saltare in padella un po’ di peperoni rossi e funghi!
Really? What was she saying?	Davvero? Cosa diceva?
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine!	Grazie al cielo non stavi guardando il vino rosso!
I ran inside to check what was happening...	Sono corso dentro per controllare cosa succedeva…
Noone was paying attention to your "precious" bag.	Nessuno teneva d'occhio la tua "preziosa" borsa.
But I don't know where he was getting it from.	Ma non so da dove lo prendesse.
I thought Diego was taking you somewhere.	Pensavo che Diego volesse portarti da qualche parte.
No, I wasn't interested at all, I was just trying to be nice to her.	No, non ero assolutamente interessata, cercavo soltanto di essere gentile con lei.
That's what I was planning.	È quello che avevo in programma.

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