English Tenses · What was happening then?
Past Continuous – Learn & Practise
“I was cooking.” “She wasn’t working.” “Were you listening?” Describe an activity that was in progress at a particular past time.
100 questions · 10 per round · No sign-in needed
1. What is Past Continuous?
The past continuous describes an activity that was already in progress at a particular time in the past. Make it with was or were + a verb ending in -ing. It often gives background information for another event.
At a past time
“At eight last night, I was preparing dinner.”
Background and interruption
“She was walking home when it started to rain.” The walk was already in progress; the rain started during it.
Two activities together
“I was cooking while he was washing up.” Both activities were in progress at the same time.
2. Choose the correct form
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I / He / She / It / one person | was + verb-ing | She was studying. |
| You / We / They / plural subjects | were + verb-ing | They were waiting. |
3. Positive, negative and question patterns
+ Positive
Subject + was/were + verb-ing
She was cooking dinner.
− Negative
Subject + was/were + not + verb-ing
She wasn’t cooking dinner.
? Question
Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?
Was she cooking dinner?
Use was with I, he, she, it and one person or thing. Use were with you, we, they and plural subjects. Put not after was or were. Move was or were before the subject in a question. Do not add did.
4. Contractions
was not → wasn’t
were not → weren’t
“She wasn’t listening” means “She was not listening”. There is no usual short positive form of was or were.
5. Questions and short answers
Yes/No questions
“Were you working at nine?” → “Yes, I was.” / “No, I wasn’t.”
“Was she driving?” → “Yes, she was.” / “No, she wasn’t.”
“Were they studying?” → “Yes, they were.” / “No, they weren’t.”
Notice: “Were you…?” becomes “I was…” when you answer about yourself.
WH-questions
- What were you doing at eight last night?
- Where was she going when you saw her?
- Why were they waiting outside?
- Who were you talking to?
6. Spelling and verb forms
Most verbs: add -ing
work → working; study → studying; play → playing. Keep the y.
Usually drop a final silent e
make → making; write → writing; take → taking. Keep ee: see → seeing.
Double some final consonants
sit → sitting; run → running; stop → stopping; plan → planning. Do not double w, x or y: snowing, fixing, playing.
Other useful forms
lie → lying; die → dying; tie → tying. Change ie to y. British spelling: travel → travelling.
7. Time expressions and common mistakes
At eight yesterday evening · at this time last week · when I arrived · while we were waiting
Past Simple or Past Continuous?
“I was cooking when the phone rang.” The past continuous shows the activity in progress; the past simple shows the event that happened during it.
“I cooked dinner yesterday” presents cooking as a completed event. “At six, I was cooking dinner” focuses on the activity in progress then.
When and while are useful clues, but they do not automatically decide the tense. Think about the meaning and timing of each action.
State verbs
We do not normally use verbs such as know, understand, want or need in a continuous form: “I knew the answer”, not “I was knowing the answer”.
- “They was working.” → They were working.
- “I was write.” → I was writing.
- “Did she was cooking?” → Was she cooking?
- “He wasn’t work.” → He wasn’t working.
- “Where you were going?” → Where were you going?
Audio uses your device’s English (UK) voice when available. No sound plays automatically.
8. Your practice space
Choose an activity. Each round has 10 questions. Type answers, choose an option or build a sentence. Read the feedback before moving on.
Full forms and standard contractions are accepted. Capital letters and final punctuation do not affect your score. Each answer is checked once per round; you can practise missed questions afterwards.
The final assessment draws from the practice bank. It is a learning check, not a qualification test.
Your round
9. Your progress
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10. Print and practise
Use these questions for classwork or homework. The print version includes 20 questions followed by the answer key on a separate page. Use your print settings to save as PDF if you prefer.
View worksheet questions and answers
- Use past continuous: I ___ a letter at eight last night. (read)
Answer: was reading - Use past continuous: We ___ in the library at ten yesterday. (study)
Answer: were studying - Use past continuous: You ___ near the door during the talk yesterday. (sit)
Answer: were sitting - Use past continuous: The driver ___ at the crossing when I saw him. (stop)
Answer: was stopping - Use past continuous: They ___ the chairs at nine yesterday. (move)
Answer: were moving - Complete the past continuous negative: I ___ a letter at eight last night. (read)
Answer: was not reading - Complete the past continuous negative: He ___ an email when the phone rang. (write)
Answer: was not writing - Complete the past continuous negative: My children ___ in the garden at four yesterday. (play)
Answer: were not playing - Complete the past continuous negative: The driver ___ at the crossing when I saw him. (stop)
Answer: was not stopping - Complete the past continuous negative: You ___ a heavy bag when I saw you. (carry)
Answer: were not carrying - Complete the question: ___ I reading a letter at eight last night?
Answer: Was - Complete the question: ___ he writing an email when the phone rang?
Answer: Was - Complete the question: ___ the nurse checking a patient’s details when I arrived?
Answer: Was - Build a past continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: him / saw / I / when / crossing / the / at / stopping / driver / the / Was
Answer: Was the driver stopping at the crossing when I saw him? - Build a past continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: rang / doorbell / the / when / sofa / the / on / lying / he / Was
Answer: Was he lying on the sofa when the doorbell rang? - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: I was reading a letter at eight last night.
Answer: I was not reading a letter at eight last night. - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: They were waiting for the bus at six yesterday.
Answer: They were not waiting for the bus at six yesterday. - Make a yes/no question. Keep the same subject and details: We were planning our project at eleven yesterday.
Answer: Were we planning our project at eleven yesterday? - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: I was write a letter at eight last night.
Answer: I was writing a letter at eight last night. - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: He was lieing on the sofa.
Answer: He was lying on the sofa.
Keep practising
Try another activity, revisit a rule or use a grammar video to support your learning.
ESOLish · Past Continuous
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Write your answers. Keep the same subject when changing sentences. Full forms and contractions are both correct.
Past Continuous · Answer key
More free learning: esolish.com/english-tenses/