Forming the Past Continuous

Tense
Task 1 - Form the Gerund form of the following verbs.
To form the verb in the Past 1) get  getting
Continuous Tense you need 2) open  opening
the correct form of ‘to be’ 3) take  taking
(was or were) and the –ing
4) travel  traveling
(Gerund) form of the verb.
5) do  doing6) lie  lying
I 7) run  running
He 8) make  making
She Task
9) cut 2
 - Fill in the sentences with the correct form of the verbs
cutting
Itwasreading a book. 10)the
in Pasteating
eat  Continuous Tense.
watching TV.
1) They _were swimming_ in the lake yesterday afternoon. (swim)
going to the cinema.
playing basketball. 2) He _was sleeping_ on the coach. (sleep)
raining.You 3) I _was reading_ a book. (read)
We 4) We _were having_ breakfast at 7 am yesterday. (have)
Theywere
5) Sarah _was painting_ the fence. (paint)
Spelling rules
6) The kids _were colouring_ the picture. (colour)
Mostly the verb gets an –ing in 7) You _were talking_ about the accident. (talk)
the Present Continuous Tense. 8) The dog _was barking_ all last night. (bark)
E.g.: starting, playing, looking,
9) We _were listening_ to the radio yesterday morning. (listen)
skiing …
If the verb is monosyllabic, it 10) Pete _was washing_ his car last weekend. (wash)
ends with a vowel +
consonant, and the vowel is
short (pronunciation) then the
consonant at the end of the
verb doubles. E.g.: run 
running
If the verb ends with –l, it
doubles. E.g.: travel  Task 3 - Write the correct forms (Past Continuous) of the verbs
travelling on the lines from this list.
If the verb is multisyllabic,
and 2nd point holds true of the
to cookto singto drinkto washto hideto watchto plantto waterto
last syllable then the
consonant at the end of the playto write
verb doubles. E.g.: permit,
admit 1) When I saw him, he _was drinking_ some milk.
If the verb ends with a mute –
2) You _were playing_ football when you broke your leg.
e, you have to leave it out.
E.g.: make  making 3) Steve _was watching_ TV when the lights went out.
There are verbs ending with – 4) We _were cooking_ when the guests arrived.
ie, like ‘lie’. In the Gerund form 5) Mum _was washing_ up when someone knocked at the door.
the ‘ie’ changes into ‘y”.
6) Nelly _was singing_ songs on the concert.
e.g.: lie  lying
Other verbs: die, outlie, 7) John and Jim _were hiding_ behind a tree when they were playing
tie, untie, …etc. hide-and-seek.
8) I _was watering_ the flowers when you came in.
Exceptions
9) You _were writing_ a test at 10 am yesterday.
There are some verbs that we 10) They _were planting_ some seedlings yesterday afternoon.
don’t use in the past continuous
tense. (Because they aren’t
action verbs.)
e.g.: like, love,
hate, smell,
seem, believe,
understand,
realise, belong,
know, want,
need, depend,
suppose …

© Susan V Toth
 Task 4 – Rewrite the Task 5 – Write sentences using the given words
sentences into Past Continuous and the verbs in Past Continuous.
and use the given phrases. e.g.: I * write * a letter * while * you * read.
 I was writing a letter while you were reading.
e.g.: The boys are fighting in the schoolyard. (at 3 1) Mum * vacuum-clean * while * dad * wash *
pm yesterday) the car.
 The boys were fighting in the schoolyard at 3 __ Mum was vacuum-cleaning while dad was washing
pm yesterday. the car.
2) The kids * draw * pictures * while * the
1) They climbed the mountain. (when he fell off) parents * do * the gardening.
__They were climbing the mountain when he fell __The kids were drawing pictures while the parents
off. were doing the gardening.
2) My dad’s waiting for me. (at 4 pm yesterday) 3) Eve and Dora * skip * the rope * while * the
__ My dad was waiting for me at 4 pm yesterday. others * play * hide-and-seek.
3) You have a shower every day. (when the __Eve and Dora were skipping the rope while the
telephone rang) others were playing hide and seek.
___You were having a shower every day when the 4) Marge * lie * in the sun * while * Dave * swim
telephone ranging. * in the sea.
4) I’ll go home. (when I had a puncture) __Marge was lying in the sun while Dave was
__I was going home when I had a puncturing. swimming in the sea.
5) The kids played in the sands. (yesterday) 5) John * build * a sandcastle * while * his mum *
__ The kids were playing in the sands yesterday. solve * crossword puzzles.
6) You’ve put on some warm clothes. (when I __John building a sandcastle while his mum solving
came in) crossword puzzles.
__You were putting on some warm clothes when I 6) Sally * colour * some pictures * while * her
come in. sister * paint * a tree.
7) Tom rides a bike on Mondays. (when I saw __Sally was colouring some pictures while her sister
him) was painting a tree.
__ Tom was riding a bike on Mondays when I saw 7) I * eat * some biscuits * while * I * wait *
him. for you.
8) They’re cleaning the windows now. (when it __I was eating some biscuits while I was waiting for
started to rain) you.
___ They were cleaning the windows now when it 8) The dog * sleep * under the bed * while * Sue
was starting to rain. * bake * a cake.
9) He will take notes. (from 2 to 4 yesterday) __The dog was sleeping under the bed while Sue was
__ He was taking notes from 2 to 4 yesterday. baking a cake.
10) Mum’s ironed the laundry. (yesterday 9) It * get * dark * while * I * talk * on the
afternoon) phone.
____Mum was ironing the laundry yesterday __It was getting dark while I was talking on the
afternoon. phone.
11) The students studied Maths two days ago. 10) Tim * play * the piano * while * his parents *
(yesterday) listen * to it.
___ The students were studying Maths two days ___Tim was playing the piano while his parents were
ago yesterday. listening to it.
12) I am staying with my friend this week. (last 11) Mandy * tidy * the room * while * mum * wash *
week) the clothes.
___ I was staying with my friend last week. __Mandy was tidying the room while mum was washing the
clothes.
12) We * do * the homework * while * dad * watch * a
football match.
__We were doing the homework while dad was watching a
football match.

© Susan V Toth