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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
That's what I was planning.	そのつもりだったよ。
How did you know you were knocking on the right door?	でもどうしてそのドアが彼女の部屋のドアだってわかったの？
Yes, I already made myself a coffee while you were sleeping.	えぇ、もう自分でコーヒー作ったの、あなたが寝ている間に。
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine!	君が赤ワインを探してなくて良かったよ！
And the girls were too busy ordering.	それに女性たちは注文するのに忙しかった。
Alright Nick, what were you saying?	おいニック。何を言ったんだよ？
Hm, why was he begging the fairy to turn him into a real kid then?	それじゃあ、ピノキオが妖精に自分を本当の男の子にしてと頼んだのはどうしてだい？
Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night.	分かった、かいつまんで話すよ。昨晩、僕はチップスを揚げてたんだ。
I was also training new workers how to make coffee.	新人にコーヒーの作り方を教育してたりもしてたのよ。
The other day, you complained about how loud I was snoring.	いつか、私のいびきがうるさいって文句言ってたじゃない。
I was just trying to be more realistic!	少しでもリアルにしようとしただけよ！
Once when Bear was little, we were walking along a dark street...	かつてベアが小さかった頃、暗いストリートを歩いていたんだ。
But I don't know where he was getting it from.	でも彼がどこで買っていたのか分からないわ。
No, I wasn't interested at all, I was just trying to be nice to her.	ううん、これっぽっちも興味なんてなかったわよ。あの人に愛想よくしてただけ。
I ran inside to check what was happening...	何があったか確認しようと思って急いでキッチンに行ったんだけど…
The only smoke I could see was coming out of her ears.	彼女の耳からなら煙が上がってるのは見えたけどね。
Really? What was she saying?	ほんとに？何て言ってたの？
I was planning on cooking some meat, originally.	そもそも僕は今日お肉を料理するつもりだったんだ。
Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night!	ああ、なるほど。彼女、昨晩そのことを話してたよ！
When I came, you were at the bar getting yourself a beer.	来た時は、君はバーでビールを頼んでいたよ。

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