Past Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.
1 We ______ to the beach for our weekend trip when it suddenly started to rain.
(a) drove
(b) were driving
(c) was driving
2 I ______ the beautiful sunshine when the sky suddenly turned dark.
(a) was enjoying
(b) enjoyed
(c) am enjoying
3 They ______ the camping tent when the wind started blowing really hard.
(a) was setting up
(b) set up
(c) were setting up
4 My friends and I ______ a great time at the park until the thunderstorm began.
(a) were having
(b) was have
(c) had
5 She ______ beautiful photos of the mountains when it began to pour.
(a) was takeing
(b) took
(c) was taking
6 We ______ attention to the dark clouds because we were having so much fun.
(a) wasn’t paying
(b) weren’t paying
(c) didn’t pay
7 ______ a nice walk in the forest when the heavy rain started?
(a) Were you having
(b) Was you having
(c) Did you have
8 I was reading a book by the lake, and my brother ______ in the water when it rained.
(a) swam
(b) was swiming
(c) was swimming
9 We wanted to stay longer, but the weather ______ worse by the minute.
(a) got
(b) was getting
(c) is getting
10 What ______ when the sudden storm ruined our picnic?
(a) did we do
(b) we were doing
(c) were we doing
11 The sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze ______ just before the storm hit.
(a) was blowing
(b) blew
(c) blowed
12 I was packing our bags while my dad ______ to fix the broken umbrella.
(a) tried
(b) was trying
(c) was triing
13 We ______ to go home early, but the terrible weather gave us no choice.
(a) didn’t planned
(b) wasn’t planning
(c) weren’t planning
14 While we ______ for the rain to stop, it only rained harder.
(a) were waiting
(b) are waiting
(c) waited
15 We ______ along the coast when a massive thunderstorm suddenly hit the area.
(a) cycled
(b) were cycling
(c) were cycleing
16 It was a disaster! We ______ our delicious barbecue when the rain destroyed everything.
(a) was eating
(b) ate
(c) were eating
17 While everyone else ______ for shelter, I was trying to save our food.
(a) was running
(b) ran
(c) were running
18 I ______ to the radio weather forecast, so the storm completely surprised us.
(a) wasn’t listening
(b) didn’t listen
(c) wasn’t listen
19 Which trail ______ when the heavy fog rolled in and you got lost?
(a) did you hike
(b) were you hiking
(c) you were hiking
20 To be honest, we ______ about the weather at all until the first drops of rain fell.
(a) weren’t worrying
(b) wasn’t worrying
(c) didn’t worry
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “were driving” correctly shows the long background action that was interrupted by the rain.
- Incorrect (a): “drove” is a common mistake (Past Simple implies a completed action, not an ongoing journey).
- Incorrect (c): “was driving” is a basic grammar error (singular auxiliary “was” for the plural subject “We”).
2 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “was enjoying” matches the singular subject “I” to show an action in progress.
- Incorrect (b): “enjoyed” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “am enjoying” is a basic grammar error (Present Continuous used for a past story).
3 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “were setting up” uses the plural auxiliary “were” for the subject “They”.
- Incorrect (b): “set up” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “was setting up” is a basic grammar error.
4 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “were having” uses the plural auxiliary “were” because the subject is “My friends and I”.
- Incorrect (c): “had” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was have” is a basic grammar error.
5 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “was taking” correctly drops the silent ‘e’ from “take”.
- Incorrect (b): “took” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “was takeing” is a basic spelling error.
6 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “weren’t paying” is the correct negative continuous form for “We”. It explains their ongoing state of distraction.
- Incorrect (c): “didn’t pay” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “wasn’t paying” is a basic grammar error.
7 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “Were you having” is the correct Yes/No question structure for an interrupted action.
- Incorrect (c): “Did you have” is a common mistake (Past Simple).
- Incorrect (b): “Was you having” is a basic grammar error (wrong auxiliary for “you”).
8 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “was swimming” correctly doubles the consonant ‘m’ (CVC rule) and uses the singular auxiliary for “my brother”.
- Incorrect (a): “swam” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “was swiming” is a basic spelling error.
9 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “was getting” shows a gradual, ongoing change in the weather during that specific time.
- Incorrect (a): “got” is a common mistake (loses the sense of a gradual process).
- Incorrect (c): “is getting” is a basic grammar error (Present Continuous).
10 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “were we doing” correctly inverts the subject and auxiliary for a Wh- question.
- Incorrect (a): “did we do” is a common mistake (asks about the reaction after the storm, not the action during the storm).
- Incorrect (b): “we were doing” is a basic grammar error (statement word order).
11 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “was blowing” is used to set the background scene/weather conditions in a story.
- Incorrect (b): “blew” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “blowed” is a basic grammar error (incorrect irregular verb form).
12 (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 basic spelling error.
13 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “weren’t planning” correctly doubles the ‘n’ and uses the plural negative auxiliary.
- Incorrect (b): “wasn’t planning” is a basic grammar error.
- Incorrect (a): “didn’t planned” is a basic grammar error (double past).
14 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “were waiting” shows the long, continuous nature of hoping for the rain to stop.
- Incorrect (c): “waited” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “are waiting” is a basic grammar error.
15 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “were cycling” correctly drops the ‘e’ from “cycle”.
- Incorrect (a): “cycled” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “were cycleing” is a basic spelling error.
16 (c)
Explanation: * Correct (c): “were eating” matches the plural subject “We” to show the interrupted meal.
- Incorrect (b): “ate” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (a): “was eating” is a basic grammar error.
17 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “was running” is correct. The pronoun “everyone” is singular in English grammar and takes “was”.
- Incorrect (b): “ran” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “were running” is a basic grammar error.
18 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “wasn’t listening” is the correct negative form to show an ongoing lack of attention.
- Incorrect (b): “didn’t listen” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “wasn’t listen” is a basic grammar error.
19 (b)
Explanation: * Correct (b): “were you hiking” asks about the continuous activity that was happening when the fog rolled in.
- Incorrect (a): “did you hike” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (c): “you were hiking” is a basic grammar error (lacks question inversion).
20 (a)
Explanation: * Correct (a): “weren’t worrying” is correct. The verb “worry” keeps its ‘y’ before -ing, and “We” takes “weren’t”.
- Incorrect (c): “didn’t worry” is a common mistake.
- Incorrect (b): “wasn’t worrying” is a basic grammar error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The “Ruined Plans” Structure: We frequently use the Past Continuous to describe a pleasant, ongoing activity that was suddenly ruined or interrupted by a short action (usually bad weather in the Past Simple).
- Formula: We were enjoying our picnic (long action) + when + it started to rain (short interruption).
- Setting the Scene: When telling a story about a trip, use the Past Continuous to describe the background weather before things went wrong: The sun was shining, a breeze was blowing.
- Tricky Subjects: Remember that indefinite pronouns like everyone, everybody, someone, nobody are grammatically singular. Always use was with them (e.g., Everyone was running).
- Spelling Rules for V-ing:
- Drop the ‘e’: drive → driving, take → taking, cycle → cycling.
- Double the consonant (CVC words): swim → swimming, run → running.
- Keep the ‘y’: try → trying, worry → worrying.