Past Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.
1 I ______ the math problem to Sarah when you walked in, Mr. Davis.
(a) was explain
(b) was explaining
(c) explained
2 We are sorry for the loud voices. We ______ our English dialogue.
(a) practiced
(b) was practicing
(c) were practicing
3 Tom ______ the instructions out loud to our group so everyone could hear.
(a) was reading
(b) read
(c) were reading
4 Please don’t be angry. We ______ video games on our phones!
(a) wasn’t playing
(b) weren’t playing
(c) didn’t play
5 My partner ______ a map for our geography poster, and I was helping him.
(a) drew
(b) was draw
(c) was drawing
6 “What exactly ______ when I opened the door?” the teacher asked the class.
(a) were you doing
(b) did you do
(c) you were doing
7 We were a bit loud because we ______ about the correct answer.
(a) argued
(b) was arguing
(c) were arguing
8 I ______ the summary on the whiteboard for my team to copy.
(a) was writeing
(b) was writing
(c) wrote
9 The students in the back row ______ about the difficult homework, not about sports.
(a) were chatting
(b) was chatting
(c) chatted
10 Emma ______; she was just resting her eyes after reading a long chapter.
(a) weren’t sleeping
(b) wasn’t sleeping
(c) didn’t sleep
11 We ______ our history presentation for tomorrow’s class.
(a) planned
(b) were planing
(c) were planning
12 “Why ______ so loudly just before I came in?”
(a) was everyone laughing
(b) did everyone laugh
(c) were everyone laughing
13 I was out of my seat because I ______ my group how to use the tablet.
(a) showed
(b) was showing
(c) was show
14 We ______ to finish the worksheet before you arrived, so we were rushing.
(a) were trying
(b) was triing
(c) tried
15 We ______ a mess; we were just organizing the vocabulary flashcards on the floor.
(a) wasn’t making
(b) didn’t make
(c) weren’t making
16 While you were talking to the principal in the hallway, we ______ our ideas.
(a) shared
(b) were sharing
(c) was sharing
17 The loud noise happened because we ______ the heavy desks to sit in a circle.
(a) were moving
(b) moved
(c) were moveing
18 “Who ______ so loudly when I stepped into the classroom?”
(a) talked
(b) were talking
(c) was talking
19 I swear I ______ my phone to play games; I was looking up a word in the dictionary.
(a) didn’t use
(b) wasn’t using
(c) wasn’t useing
20 We wanted it to be a secret! We ______ a surprise “Happy Teachers’ Day” song for you!
(a) were preparing
(b) was prepare
(c) prepared
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “was explaining” correctly uses the Past Continuous to show an ongoing action that was happening right when the teacher walked in.
- Incorrect (c): “explained” is a common mistake (Past Simple implies the action started and finished instantly when the teacher entered, which doesn’t fit the context of explaining an ongoing situation).
- Incorrect (a): “was explain” is a basic grammar error (missing the -ing suffix).
2 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): “were practicing” correctly uses the plural auxiliary “were” to match the subject “We”.
- Incorrect (a): “practiced” is a common mistake (loses the sense of the activity being “in progress”).
- Incorrect (b): “was practicing” is a basic grammar error (using singular auxiliary for a plural subject).
3 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): “was reading” matches the singular subject “Tom” and describes the ongoing background action.
- Incorrect (b): “read” is a common mistake (Past Simple).
- Incorrect (c): “were reading” is a basic grammar error (wrong auxiliary).
4 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “weren’t playing” is the correct negative Past Continuous form for “We”. It defends the ongoing state of the class.
- Incorrect (c): “didn’t play” is a common mistake (focuses on a completed timeframe rather than what they were currently doing).
- Incorrect (a): “wasn’t playing” is a basic grammar error (wrong auxiliary).
5 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): “was drawing” correctly uses the singular auxiliary for “My partner”.
- Incorrect (a): “drew” is a common mistake (Past Simple).
- Incorrect (b): “was draw” is a basic grammar error (missing -ing).
6 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): “were you doing” is the correct question word order (auxiliary + subject + V-ing) to ask about an action in progress.
- Incorrect (b): “did you do” is a common mistake (asks about the action they took after the door opened, not during it).
- Incorrect (c): “you were doing” is a basic grammar error (statement word order instead of question inversion).
7 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): “were arguing” drops the silent ‘e’ from “argue” and uses the plural auxiliary.
- Incorrect (a): “argued” is a common mistake (Past Simple).
- Incorrect (b): “was arguing” is a basic grammar error (wrong auxiliary).
8 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “was writing” correctly drops the ‘e’ from “write” before adding -ing.
- Incorrect (c): “wrote” is a common mistake (Past Simple).
- Incorrect (a): “was writeing” is a spelling error.
9 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): “were chatting” correctly doubles the consonant ‘t’ for this short CVC word.
- Incorrect (c): “chatted” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was chatting” is a basic grammar error (singular auxiliary for plural “students”).
10 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “wasn’t sleeping” is the correct negative form for the singular subject “Emma”.
- Incorrect (c): “didn’t sleep” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “weren’t sleeping” is a basic grammar error (wrong auxiliary).
11 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): “were planning” correctly doubles the final ‘n’ (plan -> planning).
- Incorrect (a): “planned” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “were planing” is a spelling error.
12 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): “was everyone laughing” is correct. The pronoun “everyone” is singular in English grammar, so it takes “was”.
- Incorrect (b): “did everyone laugh” is a common mistake (Past Simple).
- Incorrect (c): “were everyone laughing” is a grammar error (using a plural auxiliary for a singular pronoun).
13 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “was showing” sets the scene for why the student was out of their seat.
- Incorrect (a): “showed” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “was show” is a basic grammar error.
14 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): “were trying” is correct. Verbs ending in ‘y’ keep the ‘y’ when adding -ing.
- Incorrect (c): “tried” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was triing” is a spelling error.
15 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): “weren’t making” drops the ‘e’ from “make” and correctly negates the plural subject “We”.
- Incorrect (b): “didn’t make” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “wasn’t making” is a basic grammar error.
16 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “were sharing” uses the plural auxiliary and drops the ‘e’ from “share”.
- Incorrect (a): “shared” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “was sharing” is a basic grammar error.
17 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): “were moving” explains the ongoing physical action that caused the noise.
- Incorrect (b): “moved” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “were moveing” is a spelling error.
18 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): “was talking” is correct. When “Who” is the subject of the question asking about an unknown person, it takes the singular verb form.
- Incorrect (a): “talked” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “were talking” is a grammar error.
19 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “wasn’t using” correctly drops the ‘e’ from “use”.
- Incorrect (a): “didn’t use” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “wasn’t useing” is a spelling error.
20 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): “were preparing” beautifully captures the secret activity that was in progress right before the teacher stepped in.
- Incorrect (c): “prepared” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was prepare” is a basic grammar error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Justifying Actions: We use the Past Continuous to explain exactly what we were in the middle of doing when someone interrupted us or walked in. This is very useful for explaining a situation politely (e.g., We weren’t playing; we were studying!).
- Question Words as Subjects: When using “Who” to ask about the subject (the person doing the action), treat it as singular: Who was talking?
- Tricky Pronouns: Words like everyone, everybody, someone, nobody are grammatically singular. Always use was with them, never were (e.g., Everyone was laughing).
- Spelling Rules Check:
- Drop the ‘e’: argue → arguing, share → sharing, prepare → preparing.
- Double the consonant (CVC words): chat → chatting, plan → planning.
- Keep the ‘y’: try → trying.