THE PAST CONTINUOUS

 The past continuous is used to describe actions that began in past and often continued for
a short period of the time after the action started.
 Use the past continuous to talk about an action that someone was doing or an event that was
happening at a particular time.
 To form the past continuous, use was - were + verb – ing.

FORMING THE PAST CONTINUOUS

The past continuous is formed from the past tense of to be with the base of the main verb
plus ending ing.

AFFIRMATIVE

Subject + was - were + verb-ing + complement

 I was working at 10pm last night

 He was waiting at home all day
 She was asking me something
 We were working yesterday.
 You were talking to your friends
 They were waiting for the bus.

INTERROGATIVE

Was - were + Subject + verb-ing + complement?

 Was I working at 10pm last night?

 Was He waiting at home all day?
 Was She asking me something?
 Were We working yesterday?
 Were You talking to your friends?
 Were They waiting for the bus?

NEGATIVE

Subject + wasn´t- weren´t + verb-ing + complement

 I wasn’t working at 10pm last night

 He wasn’t waiting at home all day
 She wasn’t asking me something
 We weren’t working yesterday.
 You weren’t talking to your friends
 They weren’t waiting for the bus.
 Practice

I. Complete the sentences with the verb in the past continuous.

1. I ________________ (do) my homework.

2. She __________________ (work) at home.

3. I _________________ (chat) with my brother.

4. He __________________ (not /visit) his grandparents.

5. They ____________________ (try) to catch the bus.

6. We ________________ (drive) on the other side of the road.

7. I _____________________ (sit) on the bus at seven o´clock.

8. They ________________ (not /do) their homework.

9. I ____________________ (listen) to the radio.

10. Ana __________________ (not / watch) Tv.

11. Carol and Jack _________________ (buy) a Cds.

12. Tom __________________ (drive) his new car.

13. They _________________ (not / wait) for a train.

14. We _________________ (not / have) breakfast.

15. My sisters _______________ (laugh) at my story

16. He __________________ (carry) a bag.

17. At 5 o clock she _________________ (cook) dinner

18. You _________________ (not/go) to the dentist.

19. We _______________ (eat) an ice cream.

20. She __________________ (not/ ride) a bicycle.

21. I ________________ (carry) an umbrella.

22. The dogs _______________ (bark) all night long

23. He _________________ (swim) every day.

24. I ________________ (not /read) the newspaper.

25. The cat _________________(sleep) on my bed last night

26. The girls _______________ (talk) during class yesterday

27. You ___________________ (cook) lunch on Sundays.

28. Last week I ___________________ (visiting) my brother in France

29. She ___________________ (walk) in the park with her best friends.

30. The baby ___________________ (crawl) on the floor.

II. Look at the pictures and complete with the past continuous
III. Read the story and answer the following questions.

Yesterday. It was raining and thundering inside and thundering all day. Anna was
playing inside the house. She wanted to be outside. She wasn’t playing outside
because it was raining, she was feeling tired of being trapped inside the house.

Anna was trying to keep very busy inside the house. She was reading her book until
the electricity went out. Then, she decided to practice her sewing. She was
practicing sewing until lunchtime. After lunch, she sat by the window and watched
the rain

While Anna was watching the rain, the phone rang, her mother was calling to say
she was coming home, she was bringing a new game. Anna and her mother ate ice
cream and play game while they were playing, the rain stopped! But Anna didn’t even
notice. She was having such a good time with her mom.

1. Who was she?

_________________________________

2. Where was she?

_________________________________

3. What was happening?

_________________________________

4. Where was Anna playing yesterday?

_________________________________

5. Why wasn’t she playing outside?

_________________________________

6. What Anna doing before the electricity went out?

_________________________________

7. What was she doing until lunchtime?

_________________________________

8. At the end of the story the rain stopped. What was she doing?

______________________________________________
IV. Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
1. The children was havenig fun
________________________
2. The dogs was chasing the cat.
________________________
3. My mother wasn´t wash her hair.
_________________________
4. Was we listen to music?
_________________________

5. He were makes the beds

_________________________

6. Was you eating ice cream?

_________________________
7. She were painting a picture
_________________________
8. They was watch a great horror movie.
____________________________
9. I were watching the sunset.
____________________________
10. What was you do at the beach?
____________________________
11. Oliver weren’t telling jokes
____________________________

12. Our dogs was run after the white cat

____________________________
13. Was Melisa take out a book?
____________________________
14. Their parents weren’t write e mails
_____________________________
15. I were study for my exam last night
______________________________
16. She was tipying an email on his computer
______________________________
17. They was plants flowers in the garden.
______________________________
18. Were the bird flying in the sky?
______________________________
19. She were apply makeup in front of the mirror
__________________________________
20. The firefighters was extinguishing the fire.
__________________________________
V. Complete the sentences and match them to the pictures
VI. Make questions with the words in the brackets with the past continuous.

1.When you arrived at the party (Chris sing)?

____________________________________

2. When you arrived at the party (sally dance)?

____________________________________

3. When you arrived at the party (Kevin play the guitar)?

________________________________________

4. When I met you yesterday (what you eat)?

________________________________________

5. When you got home (dad sleep)?

________________________________________

6. When you got to the park (everybody have fun)?

________________________________________

7. When I saw you last night (where you go)?

________________________________________

8. When I saw you and Chris last night (what you do)?

________________________________________

9. When I saw you yesterday (what you carry)?

________________________________________

10. When you saw mom (she cook)?

________________________________________