PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
Past continuous tense is used to state an action that continued for some time in the past that means it had an ongoing nature in the past.
We/You/They/Plural Object
Were
I/He/She/It/Singular Object
Was
a) Affirmative/Positive Sentence
Subject + Auxiliary Verb ( Was/Were ) + Main Verb Ist Form + ing + Object
Examples:
1. We were waiting for the bus.
2. They were eating their lunch.
3. He was going to the office.
4. The kids were playing on the ground.
5. She was walking in the park.
b) Negative Sentence
Subject + Auxiliary Verb ( Was/Were ) + Not + Main Verb Ist Form + ing + Object
Examples:
1. The kids were not reading the book.
2. The bus was not waiting at the stop.
3. The driver was not driving carefully.
4. People were not standing in the queue.
5. He was not having tea.
c) Interrogative Sentence
Auxiliary Verb ( Was/Were ) + Subject + Main Verb Ist Form + ing + Object
Examples:
1. Were the students shouting in the class?
2. Was the train waiting at the station?
3. Was she going for her class?
4. Were the birds chirping in the forest?
5. Was the wind blowing fast?
Exercise
Fill in the blanks (past continuous tense):
1. When I phoned my friends, they____________________ (play) monopoly.
2. Yesterday at six I_____________________ (prepare) dinner.
3. The kids _____________________ (play) in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.
4. I ______________________ (practice) the guitar when he came home.
5. We ______________________ (not / cycle) all day.
6. While Alan_____________________ (work) in his room, his friends ________________________(swim) in the pool.
7. I tried to tell them the truth but they __________________ (not / listen).
8. What ____________________ (you / do) yesterday?
9. Most of the time we ___________________ (sit) in the park.
10. I _________________ (listen) to the radio while my sister ________________________ (watch) TV.
11. When I arrived, they __________________ (play) cards.
12. We _____________________ (study) English yesterday at 4:00 pm.
