Past Continuous — English Grammar Exercises
I was waiting for the bus when I saw the accident — master was/were + -ing for actions in progress in the past, with 45 exercises in 3 blocks.
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Form — was / were + -ing
| example | |
|---|---|
| positive | I was waiting for you. · They were living at home. |
| negative | I wasn't waiting long. · We weren't living there. |
| question | Were you waiting long? · Where was she travelling? |
- was — I, he, she, it
- were — you, we, they
-ing spelling
| rule | example |
|---|---|
| most verbs: + -ing | work → working |
| ending in -e: drop e, + -ing | write → writing, live → living |
| short vowel + consonant: double the consonant | run → running, swim → swimming |
| ending in -ie: -ie → -ying | die → dying, lie → lying |
When to use the past continuous
- an action in progress at a time in the past: At eight o'clock, I was having dinner.
- a temporary past situation: We were living in Berlin at the time.
- two actions at the same time: While she was cooking, I was setting the table.
- background — to set the scene: The sun was shining when we left the hotel.
Interrupted actions — past continuous + past simple
Use past continuous for the longer background action and past simple for the shorter action that interrupts it.
I was reading in bed when the phone rang.
While we were having dinner, the lights went out.
when + sudden event (past simple) — while + ongoing action (past continuous).
Plans that didn't happen
The past continuous of plan, hope, intend, mean, think shows the plan did not happen:
We were planning to come, but Mike was ill. · I was hoping to study medicine, but my grades weren't high enough.
Annoying repeated actions — was always + -ing
Past continuous + always describes an annoying or repeated past behaviour:
She was always asking stupid questions. · He was always complaining about the weather.
State verbs
State verbs (know, like, want, believe, understand, see, hear, seem) are normally not used in the continuous:
✅ I knew what to do. — ❌ I was knowing what to do.
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ |
|---|---|
| We was waiting for you. | We were waiting for you. |
| I was knowing the answer. | I knew the answer. |
| It was rainning all day. | It was raining all day. |
| She was dieing of laughter. | She was dying of laughter. |
| When the phone rang, I had a shower. | When the phone rang, I was having a shower. |
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He ___ at his desk when the phone rang.
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was working
Past continuous for an action in progress when something happened — 'was working'.
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They ___ to the radio in the kitchen.
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were listening
Use 'were' with they — 'they were listening'.
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I ___ for the bus when I saw the accident.
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was waiting
Past continuous for an action in progress that was interrupted — 'I was waiting'.
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She ___ TV at 8 o'clock yesterday evening.
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was watching
Past continuous for an action in progress at a specific time.
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What were you ___ when I called?
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doing
After 'were', use the -ing form of the main verb — 'were you doing'.
-
___ they sleeping when you arrived home?
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Were
Use 'were' with they in past continuous questions.
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At eight o'clock last night, we ___ dinner.
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were having
Past continuous for an action in progress at a specific past time.
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While she was cooking, I ___ the table.
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was setting
Two parallel actions in progress in the past — both past continuous.
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We ___ in the park when it started to rain.
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were running
'Run' has a short vowel + consonant — double the n: 'running'.
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He ___ in the river when I called him.
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was swimming
'Swim' has a short vowel + consonant — double the m: 'swimming'.
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I ___ with my cousin while my flat was being decorated.
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was living
Past continuous for a temporary past situation.
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I ___ my email when the fire alarm suddenly went off.
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was checking
The longer action in progress takes the past continuous; the short interrupting action takes the past simple.
Past Continuous: A Complete Grammar Reference
The past continuous (was/were + -ing) describes an action that was already in progress at a specific point in the past, and it is the tense most often taught alongside the past simple because the two combine constantly in real narrative. Research from the British National Corpus shows that over 60% of past continuous uses in natural speech occur together with a past simple verb in the same sentence, most often in the interrupted-action pattern: a longer background action (continuous) broken by a shorter, sudden event (simple). A second common error source is the small set of state verbs — know, seem, want, agree — that resist the continuous form altogether in nearly all contexts. These 45 exercises in 3 progressive blocks cover formation, the interrupted-action pattern, background description, parallel actions, temporary situations, the 'always + -ing' pattern for annoying habits, and the state-verb exception.
Formation: Was / Were + -ing
Form the past continuous with was (I, he, she, it) or were (you, we, they) plus the -ing form of the main verb. Spelling follows the same rules as the present participle: verbs ending in a single vowel + consonant double the consonant (run → running, swim → swimming); verbs ending in -e drop it before adding -ing (write → writing); verbs ending in -ie change to -ying (die → dying).
They were listening to the radio in the kitchen. (were + they)
We were running in the park when it started to rain. (double the n)
Interrupted Actions: When + Past Simple
The single most common use of the past continuous pairs it with the past simple: the continuous verb describes the longer action already happening, and 'when' introduces the shorter action that interrupts it. This is the pattern that gives the tense its name in many textbooks — 'the interrupted past'.
When the phone rang, I was having a shower.
I cut my finger while I was chopping vegetables for dinner.
Parallel Actions and Background Scenes
Two simultaneous ongoing past actions both take the past continuous, usually linked by 'while'. The tense also sets the background scene for a story — describing what was already happening when the main narrative moment occurred.
When I arrived at the party, everyone was dancing. (background scene)
The sun was shining brightly when we left the hotel. (background description)
Temporary Situations and Unfulfilled Plans
The past continuous also describes a temporary situation in the past ('I was living with my cousin while my flat was being decorated') and, with verbs like hope, plan, think, and intend, a plan or intention that ultimately did not happen.
We were hoping to go to the concert, but the tickets sold out. (unfulfilled plan)
Was Always + -ing: Annoying Repeated Behaviour
Adding 'always' to the past continuous expresses irritation about a repeated past habit, in contrast to the neutral 'always + past simple'. The word order is fixed: 'always' sits between 'was/were' and the -ing verb.
She was always checking her phone, even at the dinner table.
State Verbs: No Continuous Form
A group of verbs describing mental states, feelings, or perceptions — know, seem, want, agree, believe — do not normally take the continuous form, even when the surrounding sentence is clearly about the past. Use the past simple instead.
She seemed very tired when we met her at the station. (not 'was seeming')
Common Mistakes
✗ She was seeming tired. → ✓ She seemed tired.
✗ He always was talking about it. → ✓ He was always talking about it. (word order)
✗ We were runing in the park. → ✓ We were running in the park. (double the n)
✗ She was writeing at her desk. → ✓ She was writing at her desk. (drop the silent e)
✗ The plant was dieing. → ✓ The plant was dying. (-ie → -ying)
✗ We were having a quiet dinner when the alarm was going off. → ✓ ...when the alarm went off. (sudden event = past simple)
Frequently Asked Questions
When do you use the past continuous instead of the past simple?
Use the past continuous for an action that was already in progress at a specific past moment, especially when a shorter action interrupts it: 'I was waiting for the bus when I saw the accident.' Use the past simple for completed actions and for sequences of events treated as a single timeline: 'I opened the door and walked in.' In an interrupted-action sentence, the longer background action takes the continuous form and the shorter, sudden event takes the simple form. The past continuous is also used to describe temporary situations, background scenes, and unfulfilled plans (with hope, plan, intend).
How do you use 'when' and 'while' with the past continuous?
'When' typically introduces the shorter, sudden event and is followed by the past simple: 'When the phone rang, I was having a shower.' 'While' introduces the longer, ongoing background action and is followed by the past continuous: 'While I was driving home, I noticed a strange light.' Both words can appear with either action, but 'while' strongly prefers the continuous form on both sides when two actions run in parallel: 'While she was cooking, I was setting the table.' Using 'while' before a sudden, completed action sounds unnatural — use 'when' instead.
Which verbs don't normally take the past continuous?
A group of verbs describing states rather than actions — know, seem, want, agree, believe, understand — do not normally take the continuous form in any tense, including the past. Instead of 'I wasn't knowing what to do,' say 'I didn't know what to do.' Instead of 'she was seeming tired,' say 'she seemed tired.' These are sometimes called 'state verbs', and the rule holds even when the context clearly describes something ongoing, because the continuous form in English specifically marks an action in progress, not a mental or emotional state.
What does 'was always + -ing' mean?
'Was/were always + -ing' describes a habitual past action that the speaker found annoying, surprising, or excessive — it carries an emotional judgement that the plain past simple lacks. Compare 'he always complained about his job' (a neutral fact) with 'he was always complaining about his job' (implying the speaker found it tiresome). The word order is fixed: 'always' goes between 'was/were' and the -ing verb, never before 'was'. This pattern is common in spoken storytelling and complaints about other people's repeated behaviour.
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