Grammar Name : ___________________ ( ) Class : _____ Date : __________

Past Continuous Tense

We use the past continuous tense to say that:

1. someone was in the middle of doing something at a certain time in the past.

past 1 past 2 now

A fire broke out at 2:30 in the morning.
At that time, most people were sleeping.
2. someone was in the middle of doing something when something else
happened.
I was playing TV games when Tom rang me last night.
longer action shorter action

Past continuous tense is usually used with the following expressions:

when while still at that time at 9:00pm yesterday
Now, let’s look at the form of present continuous tense:
Questions Short Answers
Was I /he/ she/ it Yes, I / he/ she/ it was.
Were you/ we/ they
working hard?
No, I/ he/ she/ it was not.
Yes, you/ we/ they were.
No, you/ we/ they were not.

Positive and negative statements

I /He/ She/ It was/ was not (wasn’t) working hard.
You/ We/ They were/ were not (weren’t)

Practice:
[A]Use the verbs in the box and complete the sentences with past continuous tense.
have travel turn take wash
use cook talk play cross
1. The bus overturned when it was turning round a corner.
2. I went to visit Jane last night. When I arrived, she ____________________ to someone on the
phone.
3. I met Pal yesterday. When I saw him, he ____________________ his dog for a walk.
4. There was a blackout last night. My brother _________________ his computer when the light
went out.
5. There was an accident this morning. An old man __________________ the road when a car hit
1
 him.
6. We did not expect James to come. We ___________________ dinner when he arrived.
7. The children ___________________ in the playground when it suddenly rained.
8. Mr. Lau had a heart attack two days ago. He _________________ on a bus when he suddenly
felt ill.
9. Mrs. Lam burned her hand when she ___________________ dinner last night.
10. The girl broke a plate when she _______________________ the dishes.

[B] Choose the correct answers. Look at the first example.

1. Paul was absent yesterday because he ____ a fever. had was having
2. The building ______ at 7:30pm last night. Luckily, I burned was burning
was not at home at that time.
3. Ann isn’t here. She ______ five minutes ago. left was leaving
4. The car _______ at high speed when the lorry crashed travelled was travelling
with it.
5. I didn’t hear the bell. I ______ to some music in my listened was listening
room.
6. I did it because I ________ it was the right thing to do. thought was thinking

[C] The following are the beginnings of some stories. Complete them with the correct form
of the given words. The first question has been done for you.
I (a)was standing (stand) in line at the airport and the queue (b)was moving (move) slowly. Suddenly
someone from the back (c) shouted (shout), “I’ve lost my passport!”…
Mr. Lee (a)______________(get) up at seven as usual yesterday. It (b) ______________(rain) heavily.
He (c) ______________(turn) on the radio. …
Mrs. White’s son (a) ______________(still study) at a university in Sydney. One day he (b)
______________ (call) his mother. While they (c) ______________ (talk), the line suddenly (d)
______________(go) dead.
It (a) ______________(be) midday when the phone (b) ______________(ring) Mr. Green (c)
______________ (listen) to a call, and then (d) _____________ (jump) into his car. He quickly
(e)______________(drive) away.