Forming the Past Continuous
Tense
Task 1 - Form the Gerund form of the following verbs.
To form the verb in the Past 1) get → ___________________ 6) lie → ____________________
Continuous Tense you need 2) open → __________________ 7) run → ___________________
the correct form of ‘to be’ 3) take → __________________ 8) make → __________________
(was or were) and the –ing
4) travel → _________________ 9) cut → ___________________
(Gerund) form of the verb.
5) do → ____________________ 10) eat → ___________________
I reading a
He book.
was
She watching TV. Task 2 - Fill in the sentences with the correct form of the verbs
It going to the in the Past Continuous Tense.
cinema.
You 1) They ___________________________ in the lake yesterday
playing
We were
basketball.
afternoon. (swim)
They
raining. 2) He ___________________________ on the coach. (sleep)
3) I ___________________________ a book. (read)
Spelling rules 4) We ___________________________ breakfast at 7 am
1) Mostly the verb gets an –
yesterday. (have)
ing in the Present 5) Sarah ___________________________ the fence. (paint)
Continuous Tense. E.g.: 6) The kids ___________________________ the picture. (colour)
starting, playing, looking, 7) You ___________________________ about the accident. (talk)
skiing …
2) If the verb is
8) The dog ___________________________ all last night. (bark)
monosyllabic, it ends with 9) We ___________________________ to the radio yesterday
a vowel + consonant, and morning. (listen)
the vowel is short 10) Pete ___________________________ his car last weekend.
(pronunciation) then the
consonant at the end of
(wash)
the verb doubles. E.g.: run
→ running
3) If the verb ends with –l,
Task 3 - Write the correct forms (Past Continuous) of the verbs
it doubles. E.g.: travel → on the lines from this list.
travelling
4) If the verb is
! to cook ! to sing
multisyllabic, and 2nd point
holds true of the last
! to drink ! to wash
syllable then the consonant ! to hide ! to watch
at the end of the verb ! to plant ! to water
doubles. E.g.: permit, admit
! to play ! to write
5) If the verb ends with a
mute –e, you have to leave
it out. E.g.: make → making
6) There are verbs ending 1) When I saw him he ___________________________ some milk.
with –ie, like ‘lie’. In the
2) You ___________________________ football when you broke
Gerund form the ‘ie’
changes into ‘y”.
your leg.
e.g.: lie → lying 3) Steve ___________________________ TV when the lights
Other verbs: die, outlie, went out.
tie, untie, …etc.
4) We ___________________________ when the guests arrived.
Exceptions
5) Mum ___________________________ up when someone
knocked at the door.
There are some verbs that we 6) Nelly ___________________________ songs on the concert.
don’t use in the past continuous
7) John and Jim ___________________________ behind a tree
tense. (Because they aren’t
action verbs.)
when they were playing hide-and-seek.
e.g.: like, love, 8) I ___________________________ the flowers when you came
hate, smell, in.
seem, believe,
9) You ___________________________ a test at 10 am yesterday.
understand,
realise, belong, 10) They ___________________________ some seedlings
know, want, yesterday afternoon.
need, depend,
suppose … © Susan V Toth
Task 4 – Rewrite the Task 5 – Write sentences using the given words
sentences into Past Continuous and the verbs in Past Continuous.
and use the given phrases. e.g.: I * write * a letter * while * you * read.
! I was writing a letter while you were reading.
e.g.: The boys are fighting in the schoolyard. (at 3 1) Mum * vacuum-clean * while * dad * wash * the
pm yesterday) car.
! The boys were fighting in the schoolyard at 3 _______________________________________
pm yesterday. _______________________________________
2) The kids * draw * pictures * while * the parents *
1) They climbed the mountain. (when he fell off) do * the gardening.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
2) My dad’s waiting for me. (at 4 pm yesterday) 3) Eve and Dora * skip * the rope * while * the
______________________________________ others * play * hide-and-seek.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
3) You have a shower every day. (when the _______________________________________
telephone rang) 4) Marge * lie * in the sun * while * Dave * swim * in
______________________________________ the sea.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
4) I’ll go home. (when I had a puncture) _______________________________________
______________________________________ 5) John * build * a sandcastle * while * his mum *
______________________________________ solve * crossword puzzles.
5) The kids played in the sands. (yesterday) _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ 6) Sally * colour * some pictures * while * her sister
6) You’ve put on some warm clothes. (when I came * paint * a tree.
in) _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ 7) I * eat * some biscuits * while * I * wait * for
7) Tom rides a bike on Mondays. (when I saw him) you.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
8) They’re cleaning the windows now. (when it 8) The dog * sleep * under the bed * while * Sue *
started to rain) bake * a cake.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
9) He will take notes. (from 2 to 4 yesterday) 9) It * get * dark * while * I * talk * on the phone.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _____________________________________
10) Mum’s ironed the laundry. (yesterday 10) Tim * play * the piano * while * his parents *
afternoon) listen * to it.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
11) The students studied Maths two days ago. 11) Mandy * tidy * the room * while * mum * wash *
(yesterday) the clothes.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
12) I am staying with my friend this week. (last 12) We * do * the homework * while * dad * watch *
week) a football match.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
© Susan V Toth
Forming the Past Continuous
Tense
Task 1 - Form the Gerund form of the following verbs.
To form the verb in the Past 1) get → ___________________ 6) lie → ____________________
Continuous Tense you need 2) open → __________________ 7) run → ___________________
the correct form of ‘to be’ 3) take → __________________ 8) make → __________________
(was or were) and the –ing
4) travel → _________________ 9) cut → ___________________
(Gerund) form of the verb.
5) do → ____________________ 10) eat → ___________________
I reading a
He book.
was
She watching TV. Task 2 - Fill in the sentences with the correct form of the verbs
It going to the in the Past Continuous Tense.
cinema.
You 1) They ___________________________ in the lake yesterday
playing
We were
basketball.
afternoon. (swim)
They
raining. 2) He ___________________________ on the coach. (sleep)
3) I ___________________________ a book. (read)
Spelling rules 4) We ___________________________ breakfast at 7 am
1) Mostly the verb gets an –ing
yesterday. (have)
in the Present Continuous 5) Sarah ___________________________ the fence. (paint)
Tense. E.g.: starting, playing, 6) The kids ___________________________ the picture. (colour)
looking, skiing … 7) You ___________________________ about the accident. (talk)
2) If the verb is monosyllabic,
it ends with a vowel +
8) The dog ___________________________ all last night. (bark)
consonant, and the vowel is 9) We ___________________________ to the radio yesterday
short (pronunciation) then morning. (listen)
the consonant at the end of 10) Pete ___________________________ his car last weekend.
the verb doubles. E.g.: run →
running
(wash)
3) If the verb ends with –l, it
doubles. E.g.: travel →
travelling Task 3 - Write the correct forms (Past Continuous) of the verbs
4) If the verb is multisyllabic, on the lines from this list.
and 2nd point holds true of
the last syllable then the
! to cook ! to sing
consonant at the end of the
verb doubles. E.g.: permit,
! to drink ! to wash
admit ! to hide ! to watch
5) If the verb ends with a mute ! to plant ! to water
–e, you have to leave it out.
! to play ! to write
E.g.: make → making
6) There are verbs ending with –
ie, like ‘lie’. In the Gerund
form the ‘ie’ changes into ‘y”. 1) When I saw him he ___________________________ some milk.
7) e.g.: lie → lying
2) You ___________________________ football when you broke
8) Other verbs: die, outlie, tie,
untie, …etc.
your leg.
3) Steve ___________________________ TV when the lights
Exceptions went out.
4) We ___________________________ when the guests arrived.
There are some verbs that we
don’t use in the past continuous
5) Mum ___________________________ up when someone
tense. (Because they aren’t knocked at the door.
action verbs.) 6) Nelly ___________________________ songs on the concert.
e.g.: like, love,
7) John and Jim ___________________________ behind a tree
hate, smell,
seem, believe, when they were playing hide-and-seek.
understand, 8) I ___________________________ the flowers when you came
realise, belong, in.
know, want,
9) You ___________________________ a test at 10 am yesterday.
need, depend,
suppose …
10) They ___________________________ some seedlings
yesterday afternoon.
© Susan V Toth
Task 4 – Rewrite the Task 5 – Write sentences using the given words
sentences into Past Continuous and the verbs in Past Continuous.
and use the given phrases. e.g.: I * write * a letter * while * you * read.
! I was writing a letter while you were reading.
e.g.: The boys are fighting in the schoolyard. (at 3 1) Mum * vacuum-clean * while * dad * wash * the
pm yesterday) car.
! The boys were fighting in the schoolyard at 3 _______________________________________
pm yesterday. _______________________________________
2) The kids * draw * pictures * while * the parents *
1) They climbed the mountain. (when he fell off) do * the gardening.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
2) My dad’s waiting for me. (at 4 pm yesterday) 3) Eve and Dora * skip * the rope * while * the
______________________________________ others * play * hide-and-seek.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
3) You have a shower every day. (when the _______________________________________
telephone rang) 4) Marge * lie * in the sun * while * Dave * swim * in
______________________________________ the sea.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
4) I’ll go home. (when I had a puncture) _______________________________________
______________________________________ 5) John * build * a sandcastle * while * his mum *
______________________________________ solve * crossword puzzles.
5) The kids played in the sands. (yesterday) _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ 6) Sally * colour * some pictures * while * her sister
6) You’ve put on some warm clothes. (when I came * paint * a tree.
in) _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ 7) I * eat * some biscuits * while * I * wait * for
7) Tom rides a bike on Mondays. (when I saw him) you.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
8) They’re cleaning the windows now. (when it 8) The dog * sleep * under the bed * while * Sue *
started to rain) bake * a cake.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
9) He will take notes. (from 2 to 4 yesterday) 9) It * get * dark * while * I * talk * on the phone.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _____________________________________
10) Mum’s ironed the laundry. (yesterday 10) Tim * play * the piano * while * his parents *
afternoon) listen * to it.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
11) The students studied Maths two days ago. 11) Mandy * tidy * the room * while * mum * wash *
(yesterday) the clothes.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
12) I am staying with my friend this week. (last 12) We * do * the homework * while * dad * watch *
week) a football match.
______________________________________ _______________________________________
______________________________________ _______________________________________
© Susan V Toth
Key
Task 1 Task 4
1) get → getting 1) They were climbing the mountain when he fell off.
2) open → opening 2) My dad was waiting for me at 4 pm yesterday.
3) take → taking 3) You were having a shower when the telephone rang.
4) travel → travelling 4) I was going home when I had a puncture.
5) do → doing 5) The kids were playing in the sands yesterday.
6) lie → lying 6) You were putting on some warm clothes when I came
7) run → running in.
8) make → making 7) Tom was riding a bike when I saw him.
9) cut → cutting 8) They were cleaning the windows when it started to
10) eat → eating rain.
9) He was taking notes from 2 to 4 yesterday.
Task 2 10) Mum was ironing the laundry yesterday afternoon.
1) They were swimming in the lake yesterday afternoon. 11) The students were studying Maths yesterday.
2) He was sleeping on the coach. 12) I was staying with my friend last week.
3) I was reading a book.
4) We were having breakfast at 7 am yesterday. Task 5
5) Sarah was painting the fence. 1) Mum was vacuum-cleaning while dad was washing the
6) The kids were colouring the picture. car.
7) You were talking about the accident. 2) The kids were drawing pictures while the parents
8) The dog was barking all last night. were doing the gardening.
9) We were listening to the radio yesterday morning. 3) Eve and Dora were skipping the rope while the others
10) Pete was washing his car last weekend. were playing hide-and-seek.
4) Marge was lying in the sun while Dave was swimming in
Task 3 the sea.
1) When I saw him he was drinking some milk. 5) John was building a sandcastle while his mum was
2) You were playing football when you broke your leg. solving crossword puzzles.
3) Steve was watching TV when the lights went out. 6) Sally was colouring some pictures while her sister was
4) We were cooking / washing when the guests arrived. painting a tree.
5) Mum was washing / cooking up when someone 7) I was eating some biscuits while I was waiting for you.
knocked at the door. 8) The dog was sleeping under the bed while Sue was
6) Nelly was singing songs on the concert. baking a cake.
7) John and Jim were hiding behind a tree when they 9) It was getting dark while I was talking on the phone.
were playing hide-and-seek. 10) Tim was playing the piano while his parents were
8) I was watering / planting the flowers when you came listening to it.
in. 11) Mandy was tidying the room while mum was washing
9) You were writing a test at 10 am yesterday. the clothes.
10) They were planting / watering some seedlings 12) We were doing the homework while dad was watching
yesterday afternoon. a football match.
