PAST CONTINUOUS TENSES

SITUATION:
1) He was washing his car at 3 p.m.
2) While I was doing my homework, my mother was sewing.

1. The past continuous tense is often used to express a past on-going

action. [sentence 1]
2. It ais also used to show two activities that were going on at the same time.
[sentence 2]
3. We use it to express an action that happened while something else was
going on:
The telephone rang when I was cooking.
Sheila and Siti were running when Sheila fell
down.
4. Finally, it expresses a past habitual action:
We were always playing
hopscotch.
That man was always scolding

GRAMMAR PRACTICE 1:
Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past continuous tense of the verbs
in bracket.

1. My mother
(sleep) very early yesterday.
2. Encik Muhmud
(repair) his motorcycle last night
when the fire broke out.
3. They
(play) netball last week when the accident
happened.
4. Both my father and mother
(go) to the party last
night.
5. He is
(throw) a stick at the dog and ran away.
6. While he
(bathe), she
(eat).
7. The dog started barking while I
(talk) to my sister.
8. While they
(collect) wood, they saw a snake.
9. Salmah
(hang) out the clothes while they
(clean) the drains.
10.
While I
(watch) cartoons, my brothers
(listen) to music.

GRAMMAR PRACTICE 2:
Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past continuous tense of the verbs
in brackets.

It (1)
(be) a very hot day. The farmer (2)
(work)
in the fields while the women (3)
(prepare) lunch. An old farmer
(4)
(walk) behind a pair of buffaloes as they (5)
(plough) the field.
Felling thirsty, the old man (6)
(ask) his friend to take over
his work while he (7)
(go) back for a drink. His friend (8)
(eat) his sandwich while looking after the buffaloes.