Past Continuous - English Grammar Exercises

The Past Continuous tense is like a camera recording a scene in the past. It describes actions that were ongoing at a specific moment or provides a background for other events. While the simple past says "He read", the past continuous says "He was reading".

In this topic, you’ll master the "was/were + -ing" structure. You’ll learn how to set the scene and talk about activities that were interrupted by other actions. Get ready for 25 interactive exercises that will help you tell stories more vividly!

Summary Tips

The past continuous is great for setting the scene. It tells the reader or listener what was going on when something exciting happened. Just remember: was for one person, were for many (and you!).

Tricky Cases

Watch out for common mistakes when using Past Continuous. Pay close attention to subject-verb agreement and how different contexts can change the correct form. Some patterns might seem similar but have important differences.

Remember that context matters. The same sentence structure might work differently depending on whether you're talking about the past, present, or future, or whether you're making a statement or asking a question.

What You'll Practice

The 25 exercises give you sentences where Past Continuous needs to be used correctly. You'll practice:

• Identifying the correct form based on the subject and context
• Understanding when to use different variations
• Recognizing common errors and how to fix them
• Applying the rules in various sentence structures
• Building confidence through repeated practice