Past Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best answer (A, B, or C) to complete each sentence. All questions are part of an eyewitness statement given to the police about a traffic accident.
1 I ______ down Elm Street when the accident happened.
(a) walked
(b) was walk
(c) was walking
2 The two cars ______ very fast just before the crash.
(a) was driving
(b) were driving
(c) drove
3 It ______ heavily at 5 PM yesterday, so the road was wet.
(a) was raining
(b) raining
(c) rained
4 The driver of the blue car ______ on his phone.
(a) talks
(b) was talking
(c) were talking
5 “______ you standing near the traffic lights?” the police officer asked me.
(a) Did
(b) Was
(c) Were
6 The pedestrians ______ attention to the road because they were looking at the shop windows.
(a) weren’t paying
(b) wasn’t paying
(c) didn’t pay
7 What ______ the silver van doing before the collision?
(a) did
(b) were
(c) was
8 While the woman ______, a dog suddenly ran into the street.
(a) is crossing
(b) crossed
(c) was crossing
9 The traffic light was red, but the truck ______.
(a) wasn’t stopping
(b) didn’t stopped
(c) weren’t stopping
10 I noticed that the old man ______ a heavy bag across the street.
(a) was carrying
(b) carried
(c) was carring
11 “______ the children playing near the corner?” the reporter asked.
(a) Was
(b) Are
(c) Were
12 The cyclist fell off his bike because he ______ too fast on the wet road.
(a) rode
(b) was riding
(c) was ridding
13 As I ______ the supermarket, I heard a loud noise.
(a) was leave
(b) left
(c) was leaving
14 The police officer asked me, “Where ______ you going at the time of the crash?”
(a) were
(b) did
(c) was
15 While the red car was turning left, the blue car ______ straight ahead.
(a) went
(b) was go
(c) was going
16 I ______ the crash was the truck driver’s fault because he was distracted.
(a) was believing
(b) believed
(c) am believing
17 The driver ______ the steering wheel tightly when the tire blew out.
(a) was hold
(b) was holding
(c) held
18 I realized the woman ______ to brake, but the road was too slippery.
(a) tries
(b) was triing
(c) was trying
19 Which vehicle ______ on the wrong side of the road when you looked up?
(a) was travelling
(b) travelled
(c) were travelling
20 The paramedics arrived while the witness ______ her statement to the police.
(a) gave
(b) was giveing
(c) was giving
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c)
Explanation: “Was walking” is correct because it describes a background action in progress when another shorter action (“happened”) interrupted it. (a) is the Past Simple, which doesn’t fit the continuous background context. (b) is grammatically incorrect (missing the “-ing” suffix).
2 (b)
Explanation: “Were driving” is correct because the subject “The two cars” is plural. (a) uses “was,” which is only for singular subjects. (c) “drove” is Past Simple, which implies a finished action rather than an action in progress before the crash.
3 (a)
Explanation: “Was raining” correctly sets the scene for the event. (b) is missing the “to be” auxiliary verb (“was”). (c) “rained” implies a completed event, but we need the continuous tense to describe the ongoing weather condition at a specific time (5 PM).
4 (b)
Explanation: “Was talking” is correct because the subject “The driver” is singular. (a) is Present Simple, which does not fit a past story. (c) uses “were,” which is for plural subjects.
5 (c)
Explanation: “Were” is the correct past auxiliary verb for the pronoun “you”. (a) “Did” is used for Past Simple questions, not continuous ones. (b) “Was” is incorrect subject-verb agreement for “you”.
6 (a)
Explanation: “Weren’t paying” is correct for a plural subject (“pedestrians”) doing an ongoing action. (b) “Wasn’t” is for singular subjects. (c) “Didn’t pay” is Past Simple, but the second half of the sentence (“were looking”) establishes a continuous past context.
7 (c)
Explanation: “Was” is the correct auxiliary for the singular subject “the silver van”. (a) “Did” cannot be used with an “-ing” verb (“doing”). (b) “Were” is only for plural subjects.
8 (c)
Explanation: “Was crossing” is correct because the word “While” introduces an ongoing background action. (a) is Present Continuous, but the story is in the past. (b) is Past Simple, which is typically used for the interrupting action (“ran”), not the ongoing one.
9 (a)
Explanation: “Wasn’t stopping” correctly describes the continuous failure of the truck to stop. (b) “Didn’t stopped” is grammatically incorrect (double past). (c) “Weren’t” is plural, but “truck” is singular.
10 (a)
Explanation: “Was carrying” is the correct spelling and form. (b) “Carried” doesn’t capture the ongoing visual nature of the scene. (c) “Carring” is a spelling error (the ‘y’ is kept before adding ‘-ing’).
11 (c)
Explanation: “Were” matches the plural subject “children”. (a) “Was” is for singular subjects. (b) “Are” is present tense.
12 (b)
Explanation: “Was riding” gives the ongoing reason for his fall. (a) “Rode” is a completed action. (c) “Ridding” is a spelling mistake (the verb is “ride,” so you drop the ‘e’ and add ‘ing’, no double ‘d’).
13 (c)
Explanation: “Was leaving” is correct because “As” acts similarly to “while,” showing an action in progress. (a) “Was leave” is grammatically invalid. (b) “Left” is Past Simple, which breaks the ongoing narrative flow.
14 (a)
Explanation: “Were” matches the subject “you”. (b) “Did” is incorrect because you cannot use “did” with an “-ing” verb (“going”). (c) “Was” is singular and cannot be used with “you”.
15 (c)
Explanation: “Was going” is correct. When two ongoing actions happen at the same time in the past, we use the Past Continuous for both. (a) “Went” is Past Simple. (b) “Was go” is grammatically invalid.
16 (b)
Explanation: “Believed” is correct. “Believe” is a state verb (stative verb) and is generally not used in continuous tenses. (a) and (c) incorrectly apply continuous “-ing” forms to a state verb.
17 (b)
Explanation: “Was holding” shows the continuous physical action happening right as the blowout occurred. (a) “Was hold” is structurally incorrect. (c) “Held” is simple past, which doesn’t convey the “in progress” nature of the grip.
18 (c)
Explanation: “Was trying” is the correct spelling and tense for the ongoing attempt to stop. (a) “Tries” is present tense. (b) “Triing” is a spelling mistake (keep the ‘y’ and add ‘ing’).
19 (a)
Explanation: “Was travelling” is the correct singular form for “Which vehicle”. (b) “Travelled” focuses on a completed action rather than the state of the vehicle when the witness “looked up”. (c) “Were” is plural.
20 (c)
Explanation: “Was giving” correctly drops the ‘e’ from “give” and shows an ongoing action after “while”. (a) “Gave” is Past Simple. (b) “Giveing” is a spelling error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Structure: The Past Continuous is formed using was/were + V-ing. Use was for I, he, she, it. Use were for you, we, they.
- Setting the Scene: It is highly useful in storytelling or eyewitness accounts to describe what was happening in the background (e.g., It was raining, cars were driving fast).
- Interrupted Actions: We often use Past Continuous with Past Simple. The Past Continuous describes the longer action, and the Past Simple describes the shorter action that interrupts it (e.g., I was walking when the accident happened). Words like while and as usually take the Past Continuous, whereas when usually takes the Past Simple.
- Spelling Rules: For verbs ending in ‘e’ (like leave or give), drop the ‘e’ before adding ‘-ing’ (leaving, giving). For verbs ending in ‘y’ (like try or carry), just add ‘-ing’ (trying, carrying).
- State Verbs: Verbs that describe mental states, feelings, or possession (like believe, know, want, have) are usually not used in the continuous form. You must use the Past Simple instead (e.g., I believed him, NOT I was believing him).