Forming the Past Continuous

Tense

Task 1 - Rewrite the sentences into interrogative then give

(Wh- question word) was / were
+ subject + the –ing (Gerund) short answer. Look at the example.
form of the verb e.g.: You were painting the walls of his house yesterday. Y 
Were you painting the walls of the house yesterday? Yes, I
(When
was.
What
Where 1) They were swimming in the lake yesterday afternoon. N
Who)WasI ___________________________________________________
he ___________________________________________________
she
2) He was sleeping on the coach. Y
itreading?
going? ___________________________________________________
playing? ___________________________________________________
raining? 3) I was reading a book. N
writing?Wereyou
___________________________________________________
we
they ___________________________________________________
Sample sentences 4) We were having breakfast at 7 am yesterday. Y
___________________________________________________
Yes/No questions:
___________________________________________________
Were you buying clothes in the shop?
Short answer: 5) Sarah was painting the fence. N
Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t. ___________________________________________________
Wh-question: ___________________________________________________
Why were you running so fast
6) The kids were colouring the picture. Y
yesterday?
___________________________________________________
Question words ___________________________________________________
7) You were talking about the accident. N
Question wordWhen to useWho?
___________________________________________________
peopleWhat?objects, things,
animals …When?time / dateWhere? ___________________________________________________
placeWhy?reasonWhose? 8) The dog was barking all last night. Y
possessorHow?mannerWhich? ___________________________________________________
objects, things, animals …How many
…?quantity (countable nouns)How
___________________________________________________
much …?quantity (uncountable 9) We were listening to the radio yesterday morning. Y
nouns)What colour …?colourWhat ___________________________________________________
time …?time ___________________________________________________
Useful to know
10) Pete was washing his car last weekend. N
If you ask about the subject of ___________________________________________________
the sentence, you have to use 3rd ___________________________________________________
personal singular form of the
verb. And the word order is the
same as in an affirmative
sentence. Task 2 – Fill in the gaps with the interrogative
form of the verbs in the brackets.
e.g.: Were you writing a letter?
1) What _______ Kim _________________? (sing)
2) _______ the ducks _________________ in the lake? (swim)
3) _______ the boy _________________ TV yesterday? (watch)
e.g.: Who was asking 4) When _______ the fire _________________? (burn)
me? 5) _______ the Lees _________________ blue T-shirts? (wear)
What was coming there? 6) Who ______ Mary _________________? (question)
7) _______ you _________________ his book yesterday? (read)
8) _______ I _________________ badly last night? (dance)
9) Who _______ they _________________ at? (look)
10) How many apples _______ he _________________ from 2 to
4? (eat)
© Susan V Toth
Task 3 – Ask questions about
the underlined parts of the
sentences.
e.g.: You were eating a cake.
 What were you eating?
1) Kevin and Mike were building a sandcastle.
__________________________________________
2) She was lying in the sun at 2 o’clock yesterday.
__________________________________________
3) The kids were playing in the schoolyard.
__________________________________________
4) Ms Greene’s daughter was waiting for the train.
__________________________________________
5) They were chasing that rabbit.
__________________________________________
6) Anne was reading a book because she didn’t have first
two lessons.
__________________________________________
7) You were asking the doctor last Monday.
__________________________________________
8) Mary was wearing a yellow scarf.
__________________________________________
9) Ms Logan was teaching 10 students yesterday
afternoon.
__________________________________________
10) He was driving carefully.
__________________________________________
Task 4 – Rewrite the sentences
in interrogative form.
1) Grace and Andy were playing
cards
__________________________________________
2) I was riding Tom’s bike.
__________________________________________
3) The children were drinking some juice.
__________________________________________
4) The girls were drawing on the blackboard.
__________________________________________
5) The teacher was counting the students.
__________________________________________
6) The boys were running fast.
__________________________________________
7) The leaves were falling from the tree.
__________________________________________
8) Dad was showing in the bathroom.
__________________________________________
9) The students were revising for the test.
__________________________________________
10) Mum was watering these plants.
__________________________________________
Task 5 – Rewrite the sentences in interrogative form.
And answer.
e.g.: I was talking on the phone. (When)
(At 5:30 yesterday)
 When were you talking on the
phone? I was talking on the phone
at 5:30 yesterday.
1) Someone was sleeping. (Who) (My sister)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
2) We were sitting somewhere. (Where) (In the
park)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
3) It was pouring from the ceiling. (What) (water)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
4) I was doing something. (What) (Skip the rope)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
5) His mum was cooking lunch. (Whose) (Peter’s)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
6) He was reading newspapers. (How many) (two)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
7) Jason was writing an e-mail to her. (To whom)
(Sarah)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
8) The children were going to school. (How) (by car)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
9) They were watching TV. (When) (all day
yesterday)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
10) Christine was hoovering. (What) (the carpet)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
© Susan V Toth
 Forming the Past Continuous
Tense

Task 1 - Rewrite the sentences into interrogative then give

(Wh- question word) was / were
+ subject + the –ing (Gerund) short answer. Look at the example.
form of the verb e.g.: You were painting the walls of his house yesterday. Y 
Were you painting the walls of the house yesterday? Yes, I
(When
was.
What
Where 1) They were swimming in the lake yesterday afternoon. N
Who)WasI ___________________________________________________
he ___________________________________________________
she
2) He was sleeping on the coach. Y
itreading?
going? ___________________________________________________
playing? ___________________________________________________
raining? 3) I was reading a book. N
writing?Wereyou
___________________________________________________
we
they ___________________________________________________
Sample sentences 4) We were having breakfast at 7 am yesterday. Y
___________________________________________________
Yes/No questions:
___________________________________________________
Were you buying clothes in the shop?
Short answer: 5) Sarah was painting the fence. N
Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t. ___________________________________________________
Wh-question: ___________________________________________________
Why were you running so fast
6) The kids were colouring the picture. Y
yesterday?
___________________________________________________
Question words ___________________________________________________
7) You were talking about the accident. N
Question wordWhen to useWho?
___________________________________________________
peopleWhat?objects, things,
animals …When?time / dateWhere? ___________________________________________________
placeWhy?reasonWhose? 8) The dog was barking all last night. Y
possessorHow?mannerWhich? ___________________________________________________
objects, things, animals …How many
…?quantity (countable nouns)How
___________________________________________________
much …?quantity (uncountable 9) We were listening to the radio yesterday morning. Y
nouns)What colour …?colourWhat ___________________________________________________
time …?time ___________________________________________________
Useful to know
10) Pete was washing his car last weekend. N
If you ask about the subject of ___________________________________________________
the sentence, you have to use 3rd ___________________________________________________
personal singular form of the
verb. And the word order is the
same as in an affirmative
sentence. Task 2 – Fill in the gaps with the interrogative
form of the verbs in the brackets.
e.g.: Were you writing a letter?
1) What _______ Kim _________________? (sing)
2) _______ the ducks _________________ in the lake? (swim)
3) _______ the boy _________________ TV yesterday? (watch)
e.g.: Who was asking 4) When _______ the fire _________________? (burn)
me? 5) _______ the Lees _________________ blue T-shirts? (wear)
What was coming there? 6) Who ______ Mary _________________? (question)
7) _______ you _________________ his book yesterday? (read)
8) _______ I _________________ badly last night? (dance)
9) Who _______ they _________________ at? (look)
10) How many apples _______ he _________________ from 2 to
4? (eat)
© Susan V Toth
Task 3 – Ask questions about
the underlined parts of the
sentences.
e.g.: You were eating a cake.
 What were you eating?
1) Kevin and Mike were building a sandcastle.
__________________________________________
2) She was lying in the sun at 2 o’clock yesterday.
__________________________________________
3) The kids were playing in the schoolyard.
__________________________________________
4) Ms Greene’s daughter was waiting for the train.
__________________________________________
5) They were chasing that rabbit.
__________________________________________
6) Anne was reading a book because she didn’t have first
two lessons.
__________________________________________
7) You were asking the doctor last Monday.
__________________________________________
8) Mary was wearing a yellow scarf.
__________________________________________
9) Ms Logan was teaching 10 students yesterday
afternoon.
__________________________________________
10) He was driving carefully.
__________________________________________
Task 4 – Ask questions about
the underlined parts of the
sentences.
1) Grace and Andy were playing
cards when I came in.
__________________________________________
2) I was riding Tom’s bike.
__________________________________________
3) The children were drinking some juice.
__________________________________________
4) The girls were drawing on the blackboard.
__________________________________________
5) The teacher was counting the students.
__________________________________________
6) The boys were running fast.
__________________________________________
7) The leaves were falling from the tree.
__________________________________________
8) Dad was showing in the bathroom.
__________________________________________
9) The students were revising for the test.
__________________________________________
10) Mum was watering these plants.
__________________________________________
Task 5 – First write a question with the given
information. Then write a full answer with the words in
the bracket. Look at the example.
e.g.: I was talking on the phone. (When)
(At 5:30 yesterday)
 When were you talking on the
phone? I was talking on the phone
at 5:30 yesterday.
1) Someone was sleeping. (Who) (My sister)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
2) We were sitting somewhere. (Where) (In the
park)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
3) It was pouring from the ceiling. (What) (water)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
4) I was doing something. (What) (Skip the rope)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
5) His mum was cooking lunch. (Whose) (Peter’s)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
6) He was reading newspapers. (How many) (two)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
7) Jason was writing an e-mail to her. (To whom)
(Sarah)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
8) The children were going to school. (How) (by car)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
9) They were watching TV. (When) (all day
yesterday)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
10) Christine was hoovering. (What) (the carpet)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
© Susan V Toth
 Key
Task 1
1) Were they swimming in the lake yesterday afternoon? No, they weren’t.
2) Was he sleeping on the coach? Yes, he was.
3) Were you reading a book? No, I wasn’t.
4) Were you having breakfast at 7 am yesterday? Yes, we were.
5) Was Sarah painting the fence? No, she wasn’t.
6) Were the kids colouring the picture? Yes, they were.
7) Were you talking about the accident? No, we weren’t.
8) Was the dog barking all last night? Yes, it was.
9) Were you listening to the radio yesterday morning? Yes, we were.
10) Was Pete washing his car last weekend? No, he wasn’t.

Task 2
1) What was Kim singing?
2) Were the ducks swimming in the lake?
3) Was the boy watching TV yesterday?
4) When was the fire burning?
5) Were the Lees wearing blue T-shirts?
6) Who was Mary questioning?
7) Were you reading his book yesterday?
8) Was I dancing badly last night?
9) Who were they looking at?
10) How many apples was he eating from 2 to 4?

Task 3
1) What were Kevin and Mike building?
2) When was she lying in the sun?
3) Where were the kids playing?
4) Whose daughter was waiting for the train?
5) Which rabbit were they chasing?
6) Why was Anne reading a book?
7) Who was asking the doctor last Monday?
8) What colour / What kind of scarf was Mary wearing?
9) How many students was Ms Logan teaching yesterday afternoon?
10) How was he driving?

Task 4
1) When were Grace and Andy playing cards?
2) Whose bike were you riding?
3) How much juice were the children drinking?
4) Where were the girls drawing?
5) Who was the teacher counting?
6) How were the boys running?
7) What was falling from the tree?
8) What was dad doing in the bathroom?
9) What were the students revising for?
10) What was mum was watering?

Task 5
1) Who was sleeping? My sister was sleeping.
2) Where were we sitting? We were sitting in the park.
3) What was pouring from the ceiling? Water was pouring from the ceiling.
4) What were you doing? I was skipping the rope.
5) Whose mum was cooking lunch? Peter’s mum was cooking lunch.
6) How many newspapers was he reading? He was reading two newspapers.