The Past Continuous

1. The freeze game

E.g. They were playing ice – hockey.

1.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

2.
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3.
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4.
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

5.
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2a. Complete the newspaper articles with the Past

Simple of the verbs in the boxes.
 a. Hands up, I’ve got a burger! b. Teenage party ends in tears
1. …………………………… 1. ……………………………
2. …………………………… 2. ……………………………
3. …………………………… 3. ……………………………
4. …………………………… 4. ……………………………
5. …………………………… 5. ……………………………
2b. Match these phrases to the articles. Where exactly
does each phrase go in the story?

A … because she was revising for exams.

B As he was running out of the bank,
C Everyone was having a good time when suddenly …
D … that was waiting for him outside.
E … and some of them were carrying knifes.
F …, who was wearing a mask, ….

3. Basic use of the past continuous

Look at the previous exercise. Can you find the difference between the
past simple and the past continuous? When do we use the past
continuous?

 In words
The Past Simple
1. For a state in the past.
e.g. Poor Grandmamma was terrified.
2. For past time actions which are
completely finished.
e.g. He went and knocked on
Grandma’s door.
3. For series of actions in the
past.
e.g. He stopped, he stared and then
he said.
 The result of the action
The Past Continuous
1. The past continuous expresses a
past activity that has duration.
e.g. I met her while I was living in
Paris.
2. The activity began before the
action expressed by the past simple.
e.g. She was making coffee when we
arrived.
3. It expresses an activity in
progress before, and probably after,
a time in the past.
e.g. When I woke up the sun was
shining.
 Length of the period.

 Scheme

4. The
formation of the past continuous

The past continuous is the past of be + ing – form.

e.g. I was waiting for my friends. It was getting dark.
You were reading a book. We were laughing out loud.
He/she was ironing the clothes. They were going home from
work.

Positive Negative Interrogative

I was was not/wasn’t Was I working?
working working
you were were not/weren’t Were you working?
working working
he/she was was not/wasn’t Was he/she/it working?
/it working working
we were were not/weren’t Were we working?
working working
you were were not/weren’t Were you working?
working working
they were were not/weren’t Were they working?
 working working

5. Exercises

5.1 Complete the sentences by putting the verbs in brackets into

the Past Continuous.

1. I tried to explain my problem to her, but she (not/listen)

……………………………
2. He (talk) …………………………… on the phone when I arrived.
3. A lot of people (wait) …………………………… for the 7.30 bus last night.
4. I (live) …………………………… in London when I met them.
5. I nearly had an accident this morning. A car (come)
…………………………… towards me, but I moved quickly out of the way.
6. At the end of the first half of the game, they (win)
…………………………….
7. It was a sunny afternoon and people (sit) …………………………… on the
grass in the park. Then it suddenly started to rain.

5.2 Describe what the people in the picture were doing when Rick
came into the room.

1. George …………………………… a newspaper. 5. Barbara

…………………………… a letter.
2. Julie …………………………… a sandwich. 6. Rita
…………………………… her hair.
3. Sue and Liz …………………………… table tennis. 7. Alison
…………………………… to music.
4. Caroline …………………………… on the floor. 8. Ann
…………………………… a picture.
5.3 Write down five sentences about what these people were
doing when the accident happened. You may work in pairs.
1.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
2.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
3.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
4.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
5.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………