PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE EXERCISE 1 (ESL)
level: Beginner (A1/A2)
The past continuous (was/were + verb-ing) describes actions that were in progress at a specific moment in the past. It is commonly used to describe background actions, interrupted actions, and simultaneous events. This is exercise 1 of 2 in this series.
Fill in each blank with the correct past continuous form of the verb in brackets.
1. The childrenoutside. (play)
Correct: were playing
2. The dogat us. (bark)
Correct: was barking
3. My teacherthe exercise to me. (explain)
Correct: was explaining
4. Ito a podcast. (listen)
Correct: was listening
5. Those peopletowards the library. (walk)
Correct: were walking
6. The cooka tasty meal. (prepare)
Correct: was preparing
7. Ito fix my computer. (try)
Correct: was trying
8. My friend and Ibasketball. (play)
Correct: were playing
9. The cashierthe customer's money. (count)
Correct: was counting
10. My sister and my brother. (sing)
Correct: were singing
11. The exama long time. (take)
Correct: was taking
12. Ifor my keys. (look)
Correct: was looking
13. The catwater. (drink)
Correct: was drinking
14. My auntsa cake. (bake)
Correct: were baking
15. Robertto the beach. (drive)
Correct: was driving
16. My parentsus a story. (tell)
Correct: were telling
17. The rainhard. (fall)
Correct: was falling
18. Theyall night. (work)
Correct: were working
19. The studentsEnglish. (practice)
Correct: were practicing
20. Itdark. (get)
Correct: was getting
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PAST TENSE EXERCISES:
Past continuous 2 (B)
Simple past or past continuous? 1 (B1/B2)
Simple past or past continuous? 2 (A1/A2)
Simple past 1 (B)
Simple past 2 (B)
Present continuous 1 (B)
Present continuous 2 (B)
Mixed verb tenses 1 (I)
Mixed verb tenses 2 (I)
Mixed verb tenses 3 (I)
Simple past or past continuous? 1 (B1/B2)
Simple past or past continuous? 2 (A1/A2)
Simple past 1 (B)
Simple past 2 (B)
Present continuous 1 (B)
Present continuous 2 (B)
Mixed verb tenses 1 (I)
Mixed verb tenses 2 (I)
Mixed verb tenses 3 (I)
