Past Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.
1 I’m so sorry I missed the party. I ______ for my math exam all evening.
(a) was study
(b) studied
(c) was studying
2 I couldn’t come to your house because my mom and I ______ the living room.
(a) were cleaning
(b) was cleaning
(c) cleaned
3 Thanks for the invitation, but I ______ after my little brother last night.
(a) looked
(b) was looking
(c) look
4 I really wanted to join you guys, but I ______ on my science project.
(a) worked
(b) am working
(c) was working
5 I didn’t go to the cinema with you because I ______ my grandparents in the countryside.
(a) was visiting
(b) visited
(c) was visit
6 I couldn’t meet you at the cafe. My bike broke down, and I ______ it in the garage.
(a) was fixing
(b) fixed
(c) was fix
7 Sorry I didn’t show up. My dog was sick, so we ______ at the vet’s clinic all evening.
(a) was waiting
(b) waited
(c) were waiting
8 I missed your birthday dinner because I ______ late at the office.
(a) worked
(b) was working
(c) were working
9 I couldn’t make it to the concert. I ______ for a very important job interview.
(a) prepared
(b) was preparing
(c) was prepareing
10 Why didn’t I come? Well, my computer broke, and I ______ to fix it for hours!
(a) tried
(b) was trying
(c) was triing
11 I couldn’t join the video call because I ______ dinner for my whole family.
(a) made
(b) was makeing
(c) was making
12 I didn’t go to the beach with you yesterday because I ______ terrible all morning.
(a) was feel
(b) felt
(c) was feeling
13 I couldn’t attend the meeting. ______ heavily all morning, and I couldn’t leave the house.
(a) It was raining
(b) It rained
(c) Was raining
14 Sorry, I ______ my phone, so I didn’t even see your invitation until today.
(a) didn’t check
(b) wasn’t checking
(c) weren’t checking
15 I couldn’t come to the party because my sister and her friends ______ in my room, and I couldn’t leave them alone!
(a) was chatting
(b) chatted
(c) were chatting
16 I didn’t join you for pizza because I ______ my heavy bedroom furniture.
(a) was moving
(b) was moveing
(c) moved
17 I couldn’t hang out yesterday. While you guys were having fun, I ______ the kitchen floor!
(a) was mopping
(b) mopped
(c) was moping
18 I apologize for my absence. I ______ my neighbor with her heavy groceries when you called.
(a) was help
(b) was helping
(c) helped
19 I couldn’t go to the match. My parents ______ an argument, and I had to stay home to calm things down.
(a) were having
(b) was having
(c) had
20 I didn’t ignore your invite! I simply ______ attention to my messages because I was completely focused on my art project.
(a) didn’t pay
(b) wasn’t pay
(c) wasn’t paying
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “was studying” shows the continuous action that took up the whole evening, explaining why the speaker couldn’t attend.
- Incorrect (b): “studied” is a common mistake (Past Simple sounds like a completed task rather than an ongoing excuse covering the party time).
- Incorrect (a): “was study” is a basic grammar error (missing -ing).
2 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “were cleaning” matches the plural subject “my mom and I” (we).
- Incorrect (c): “cleaned” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was cleaning” is a basic grammar error (singular auxiliary for a plural subject).
3 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “was looking” perfectly describes the ongoing responsibility that prevented the speaker from going out.
- Incorrect (a): “looked” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “look” is a basic grammar error (Present Simple).
4 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “was working” establishes the background activity that occupied the speaker’s time.
- Incorrect (a): “worked” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “am working” is a basic grammar error (Present Continuous).
5 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “was visiting” acts as the continuous excuse for the specific time of the cinema trip.
- Incorrect (b): “visited” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “was visit” is a basic grammar error.
6 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “was fixing” is the correct continuous form for the singular subject “I”.
- Incorrect (b): “fixed” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “was fix” is a basic grammar error.
7 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “were waiting” correctly uses the plural auxiliary for “we”.
- Incorrect (b): “waited” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “was waiting” is a basic grammar error (wrong auxiliary).
8 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “was working” uses the singular auxiliary for “I”.
- Incorrect (a): “worked” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “were working” is a basic grammar error.
9 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “was preparing” correctly drops the silent ‘e’ from “prepare”.
- Incorrect (a): “prepared” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “was prepareing” is a spelling error.
10 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “was trying” is correct. Verbs ending in ‘y’ keep the ‘y’ when adding -ing.
- Incorrect (a): “tried” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “was triing” is a spelling error.
11 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “was making” correctly drops the silent ‘e’ from “make”.
- Incorrect (a): “made” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was makeing” is a spelling error.
12 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “was feeling” describes an ongoing physical state during the morning that prevented the beach trip.
- Incorrect (b): “felt” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “was feel” is a basic grammar error.
13 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “It was raining” uses the dummy subject “It” to talk about ongoing weather.
- Incorrect (b): “It rained” is a common mistake (loses the descriptive, ongoing feeling of the weather).
- Incorrect (c): “Was raining” is a basic grammar error (missing the subject “It”).
14 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “wasn’t checking” describes an ongoing state of not looking at the phone.
- Incorrect (a): “didn’t check” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “weren’t checking” is a basic grammar error (wrong auxiliary for “I”).
15 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “were chatting” uses the plural auxiliary for “my sister and her friends” and correctly doubles the ‘t’.
- Incorrect (b): “chatted” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “was chatting” is a basic grammar error.
16 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “was moving” correctly drops the silent ‘e’ from “move”.
- Incorrect (c): “moved” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was moveing” is a spelling error.
17 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “was mopping” correctly doubles the consonant ‘p’ for this CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word.
- Incorrect (b): “mopped” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “was moping” is a spelling error that changes the meaning entirely (“mope” means to feel sorry for yourself).
18 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “was helping” explains the specific action in progress right when the call happened.
- Incorrect (c): “helped” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “was help” is a basic grammar error.
19 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “were having” matches the plural subject “My parents”.
- Incorrect (c): “had” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was having” is a basic grammar error.
20 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “wasn’t paying” is the correct negative continuous form.
- Incorrect (a): “didn’t pay” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “wasn’t pay” is a basic grammar error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Making Excuses: We often use the Past Continuous to politely decline an invitation in the past. It shows that you were already busy doing something else, which occupied your time and made it impossible to attend.
- Example: “Why didn’t you come?” -> “I was working late.” (It sounds softer and more continuous than “I worked late”).
- Structure Reminder:
- Positive: Subject + was/were + V-ing
- Negative: Subject + wasn’t/weren’t + V-ing
- Spelling Rules for V-ing:
- Drop the silent ‘e’: move → moving, make → making, prepare → preparing.
- Keep the ‘y’: try → trying, pay → paying.
- Double the consonant for short CVC words: mop → mopping, chat → chatting.
- Weather Contexts: To use weather as an excuse, always use the dummy subject “It” (e.g., It was raining – NOT Was raining).