Past Continuous Practice Tests with A2 Grammar Rules & Examples

Past Continuous

The past continuous tells us about an action that was in progress (happening) at a specific moment in the past. We use it to describe what was going on at a particular time — like a scene from a film that is paused.

Look at this example:

"At 8 o'clock last night, I was watching television."

This means the action of watching television was already happening at 8 o'clock. It started before 8 o'clock and was still going on at that moment.

Here are a few more quick examples:

• She was reading a book when I called her.
• They were playing football at 3 o'clock.
• It was raining all morning.

In this lesson, you will learn how to form and use the past continuous in positive sentences, negative sentences, and questions.

How to Form the Past Continuous

To make the past continuous, we use two parts:

Subject + was / were + verb-ing

The verb to be changes depending on who is doing the action. We use was with some subjects and were with others. Then we add -ing to the main verb.

Think of it like this:

I was sleeping. → "I" + "was" + "sleep" + "-ing"

They were sleeping. → "They" + "were" + "sleep" + "-ing"

Was or Were?

Here is a simple guide to help you choose was or were:

Subject (Who)	Was or Were?	Example
I	was	I was eating lunch.
He	was	He was working late.
She	was	She was listening to music.
It	was	It was raining outside.
You	were	You were talking too fast.
We	were	We were having dinner.
They	were	They were watching a film.

Simple rule: Use was with I, he, she, and it. Use were with you, we, and they.

Adding -ing to the Verb

To make the -ing form, we usually just add -ing to the verb. But there are a few small spelling rules to know:

Most verbs: just add -ing
read → reading, eat → eating, play → playing, talk → talking

Verbs ending in a single -e: remove the -e, then add -ing
write → writing, make → making, come → coming

Short verbs ending in consonant + vowel + consonant: double the last letter, then add -ing
run → running, sit → sitting, swim → swimming, get → getting

Positive Sentences

A positive sentence (also called an affirmative sentence) says that something was happening. The pattern is:

Subject + was / were + verb-ing

Subject	Was / Were	Verb-ing	Full Sentence
I	was	sleeping	I was sleeping at midnight.
He	was	cooking	He was cooking dinner.
She	was	crying	She was crying in her room.
It	was	snowing	It was snowing all day.
You	were	laughing	You were laughing loudly.
We	were	waiting	We were waiting for the bus.
They	were	dancing	They were dancing at the party.

Negative Sentences

To make a negative sentence (to say something was not happening), we add not after was or were:

Subject + was / were + not + verb-ing

We can also use contractions (short forms). A contraction is when we join two words together with an apostrophe ('):

was not → wasn't
were not → weren't

Full Form	Contraction	Example
I was not working	I wasn't working	I wasn't working yesterday.
He was not listening	He wasn't listening	He wasn't listening to me.
She was not sleeping	She wasn't sleeping	She wasn't sleeping at 10 pm.
We were not eating	We weren't eating	We weren't eating at the restaurant.
They were not playing	They weren't playing	They weren't playing outside.

Questions in the Past Continuous

To make a question with the past continuous, we move was or were to the beginning of the sentence, before the subject:

Was / Were + subject + verb-ing?

Was / Were	Subject	Verb-ing	Full Question
Was	she	sleeping?	Was she sleeping?
Was	he	working?	Was he working late?
Were	you	listening?	Were you listening to the teacher?
Were	they	waiting?	Were they waiting for us?
Were	we	going	Were we going the right way?

Short Answers to Yes/No Questions

When someone asks a yes/no question in the past continuous, we answer with a short answer like this:

Yes, subject + was / were.
No, subject + wasn't / weren't.

Was she sleeping?
✅ Yes, she was. / No, she wasn't.

Were they playing football?
✅ Yes, they were. / No, they weren't.

Wh- Questions

We can also use question words (what, where, who, why, when) at the start of a past continuous question:

Wh- word + was / were + subject + verb-ing?

• What were you doing at 9 o'clock?
• Where was she going?
• Why were they laughing?
• Who was he talking to?

When Do We Use the Past Continuous?

There are two main situations where we use the past continuous:

1. An Action in Progress at a Specific Time in the Past

We use the past continuous to say what was happening at a particular moment in the past. We often use time expressions like at 7 o'clock, at this time yesterday, all morning, all day.

• At 7 o'clock, I was having breakfast.
• She was studying all evening.
• They were travelling at this time last week.

2. A Longer Action Interrupted by a Shorter Action

This is a very common use of the past continuous. A longer action was happening (past continuous), and then a shorter action happened and interrupted it (past simple).

We often use when or while to connect the two actions.

Pattern with "when":
I was reading a book when the phone rang.

→ Reading was the long action (past continuous). The phone ringing was the short, sudden action (past simple).

Pattern with "while":
While she was cooking, the baby started to cry.

→ Cooking was the long action (past continuous). The baby crying was the sudden action (past simple).

Long Action (Past Continuous)	Short Action (Past Simple)	Full Sentence
I was walking to school	it started to rain	I was walking to school when it started to rain.
He was watching TV	she called him	He was watching TV when she called him.
We were having dinner	the lights went off	We were having dinner when the lights went off.
She was sleeping	the alarm rang	She was sleeping when the alarm rang.

Important Differences: Past Continuous vs Past Simple

It is important to understand the difference between the past continuous and the past simple. They are both about the past, but they have different meanings.

Past Simple → a completed action. It started and finished.

Past Continuous → an action that was in progress (happening) at a moment in the past. It was not finished at that moment.

Past Simple	Past Continuous
I read a book last night. (I finished it.)	I was reading a book at 9 pm. (I was in the middle of it.)
She cooked dinner. (She finished cooking.)	She was cooking dinner when I arrived. (Still in progress.)
It rained yesterday. (A fact about yesterday.)	It was raining when we left. (In progress at that moment.)

Think of it this way: the past simple is like a photograph that is already complete. The past continuous is like a video that is still playing at that moment.

Common Mistakes

Here are some typical mistakes students make with the past continuous. Read them carefully so you can avoid them!

❌ I was watch TV when you called.
✅ Add -ing to the main verb: I was watching TV when you called.

❌ They was playing football.
✅ Use "were" with they: They were playing football.

❌ She were sleeping at midnight.
✅ Use "was" with she: She was sleeping at midnight.

❌ He was not worked yesterday.
✅ Use the -ing form, not the past simple: He was not working yesterday.

❌ Was they waiting for us?
✅ Use "were" with they in questions too: Were they waiting for us?

❌ While I was walking, I have seen a dog.
✅ Use past simple (not present perfect) for the short action: While I was walking, I saw a dog.

❌ I was knowing the answer.
✅ Some verbs (like "know") do not use -ing forms: I knew the answer.

Verbs We Do Not Usually Use in the Continuous Form

Some verbs describe a state (a situation that does not change), not an action. We do not usually use these verbs in the past continuous. We use the past simple instead.

Common state verbs include: know, like, love, hate, want, need, believe, understand, remember, see, hear, seem

❌ Do Not Say	✅ Say This Instead
I was knowing the answer.	I knew the answer.
She was wanting some water.	She wanted some water.
He was liking the film.	He liked the film.
We were understanding the lesson.	We understood the lesson.

Past Continuous: Quick Summary

Let's look at the key points about the past continuous:

• We use the past continuous to talk about an action that was in progress at a specific moment in the past.
• We form it with: was / were + verb-ing
• Use was with I, he, she, it.
• Use were with you, we, they.
• For negatives, add not: was not / wasn't or were not / weren't.
• For questions, put was / were before the subject.
• We often use the past continuous with when and while to show a longer action interrupted by a shorter past simple action.
• State verbs (know, like, want, etc.) do not use the continuous form.

Sentence Type	Pattern	Example
Positive	Subject + was/were + verb-ing	She was reading a book.
Negative	Subject + wasn't/weren't + verb-ing	She wasn't reading a book.
Question	Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?	Was she reading a book?
Short answer (yes)	Yes, subject + was/were.	Yes, she was.
Short answer (no)	No, subject + wasn't/weren't.	No, she wasn't.

Now practise the past continuous in the exercises below.