Past Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best answer (A, B, or C) to complete each sentence. All questions are set in the context of posting a status update or texting a friend about a sports match during the half-time break.
1 At half-time, our striker ______ a great game!
(a) was having
(b) was have
(c) having
2 I ______ to you right when the referee blew the whistle for the break.
(a) texted
(b) was texting
(c) was text
3 It was a bad start. The players ______ well in the first 20 minutes.
(a) wasn’t playing
(b) didn’t playing
(c) weren’t playing
4 “______ the game at 8 PM yesterday?”
(a) Did you watching
(b) Were you watching
(c) Was you watching
5 At exactly 8:30 PM, the fans ______ loudly in the stadium.
(a) were cheering
(b) are cheering
(c) was cheering
6 When the first half ended, it ______ heavily.
(a) was rain
(b) raining
(c) was raining
7 I bought some hot dogs while the players ______ in the locker room.
(a) were resting
(b) rested
(c) was resting
8 What ______ when the camera suddenly pointed at him?
(a) the coach was doing
(b) was the coach doing
(c) did the coach do
9 We were hoping for a quick goal, but their defenders ______ too fast.
(a) were running
(b) was running
(c) were runing
10 The goalkeeper ______ when the striker shot the ball.
(a) didn’t looked
(b) weren’t looking
(c) wasn’t looking
11 As the clock was ticking down to half-time, the crowd ______ very nervous.
(a) is getting
(b) was getting
(c) was geting
12 At the 40-minute mark, our team ______ 1-0, but they still looked strong.
(a) was losing
(b) was loseing
(c) lost
13 While I ______ for the second half to start, I saw your message.
(a) am waiting
(b) waited
(c) was waiting
14 Which player ______ the match before the break?
(a) was dominating
(b) were dominating
(c) was dominate
15 I ______ we could still win because we had a better strategy.
(a) was believing
(b) believed
(c) were believing
16 While our team was attacking, their players ______ completely.
(a) was defending
(b) defended
(c) were defending
17 I ______ the score would be tied at half-time.
(a) was knowing
(b) knew
(c) knowed
18 The injured player ______ on the grass while the medics checked him.
(a) was lieing
(b) layed
(c) was lying
19 I didn’t reply to your text because I ______ completely on the penalty kick.
(a) was focusing
(b) focused
(c) was focus
20 At exactly 9 PM, the coach ______ his head in disappointment.
(a) was shakeing
(b) was shaking
(c) shakes
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a)
Explanation: “Was having” is correct. It describes an ongoing state up to the half-time break. (c) lacks the auxiliary verb “was”. (b) is structurally incorrect because it lacks the “-ing” suffix.
2 (b)
Explanation: The Past Continuous is used because the action of “texting” was in progress when a shorter action (the referee blew the whistle) interrupted it. (a) “texted” loses the “in progress” nuance. (c) is grammatically incorrect.
3 (c)
Explanation: “Weren’t playing” is correct because the subject “The players” is plural. (a) is incorrect because “wasn’t” is used for singular subjects. (b) is a structural error.
4 (b)
Explanation: “Were you watching” is the correct question structure for a specific time in the past (8 PM yesterday). (c) is incorrect because the pronoun “you” pairs with “were”. (a) incorrectly mixes the auxiliary “did” with an “-ing” verb.
5 (a)
Explanation: At an exact time in the past (8:30 PM), an ongoing action requires the Past Continuous. Since “fans” is a plural subject, “were cheering” is correct. (b) is Present Continuous. (c) has incorrect subject-verb agreement.
6 (c)
Explanation: “Was raining” correctly sets the ongoing background weather condition at that specific moment. (b) lacks the auxiliary “was”. (a) is structurally incorrect.
7 (a)
Explanation: Clauses starting with “while” usually take the continuous tense to describe an extended process (“were resting”). (b) “rested” is Past Simple and doesn’t emphasize the duration. (c) is incorrect because “players” is plural.
8 (b)
Explanation: The correct Wh- question structure is: Wh-word + was/were + subject + V-ing. (a) lacks the necessary subject-auxiliary inversion. (c) changes the meaning, implying the coach reacted after the camera pointed at him, rather than asking what he was doing at that exact moment.
9 (a)
Explanation: “Were running” is correct for the plural subject “defenders”. (c) is a common spelling mistake (the verb “run” must double the ‘n’ to become “running”). (b) uses the incorrect singular auxiliary “was”.
10 (c)
Explanation: The ongoing action of “not looking” (wasn’t looking) was interrupted by the sudden action of the striker shooting the ball. (b) is incorrect because “goalkeeper” is singular. (a) is structurally invalid.
11 (b)
Explanation: “Was getting” accurately describes a parallel, ongoing change of state. (a) is present tense. (c) is a spelling error (the verb “get” must double the ‘t’ to become “getting”).
12 (a)
Explanation: “Was losing” is the correct form (drop the ‘e’ from “lose” and add “-ing”). (b) is a common spelling error. (c) The Past Simple doesn’t correctly reflect the temporary, ongoing state of losing while the match is still active.
13 (c)
Explanation: “While” introduces a past ongoing action. (b) The Past Simple doesn’t capture the length of the waiting process. (a) is Present Continuous.
14 (a)
Explanation: “Which player” acts as a singular subject, so “was dominating” is correct. (b) uses the incorrect auxiliary “were”. (c) is structurally incorrect.
15 (b)
Explanation: THIS IS A DISTRACTOR. “Believe” is a stative verb (describing a mental state), which cannot be used in continuous tenses even if the context feels ongoing. Therefore, the Past Simple “believed” must be used. (a) and (c) are very common learner mistakes.
16 (c)
Explanation: This sentence describes two parallel actions happening at the same time: our team “was attacking” and their players “were defending”. (a) is incorrect because “players” is plural. (b) fails to show the parallel, continuous nature of the action.
17 (b)
Explanation: Similar to question 15, “know” is a stative verb of cognition. It must be in the Past Simple. (a) is a common mistake made when learners try to force every verb into the continuous form. (c) is an incorrect irregular verb form (“know” becomes “knew”, not “knowed”).
18 (c)
Explanation: The “-ing” form of the verb “lie” (to rest flat) changes exceptionally to “lying”. (a) “lieing” is the most common spelling mistake. (b) is the past tense of “lay” (to put something down), which is incorrect in both meaning and grammar here.
19 (a)
Explanation: “Was focusing” shows an ongoing process that took up your full attention at the time the text arrived. (b) “focused” doesn’t highlight the intense, momentary concentration. (c) is structurally incorrect.
20 (b)
Explanation: When adding “-ing” to “shake”, you must drop the ‘e’ to make “shaking”. At the exact time of 9 PM, the action was in progress. (a) “shakeing” is a basic spelling error. (c) is Present Simple.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Core Formula: The Past Continuous is formed using was/were + V-ing. Use was for I, he, she, it. Use were for you, we, they.
- “Pausing the Match” (The Half-time Context): This tense is perfect for reporting events in the middle of an activity. It emphasizes the unfinished and temporary nature of the match (e.g., They were losing 1-0, The fans were cheering…).
- Spelling Rules:
- Drop the final ‘-e’ before adding ‘-ing’ (lose -> losing, shake -> shaking).
- For one-syllable verbs ending in a single vowel followed by a single consonant, double the final consonant (run -> running, get -> getting).
- Special exceptions: lie -> lying, die -> dying.
- The Stative Verbs Trap: Verbs related to cognition, emotion, or possession (e.g., know, believe, understand, want, like) are NOT used in the continuous tense (no V-ing). Even if you want to express an ongoing feeling in the past, you must use the Past Simple (e.g., I believed, NOT I was believing).