Type the correct Past Continuous form of the verb in brackets. Four exercise sets: affirmative, negative, questions, and mixed with when/while. Pay attention to the -ing spelling rules.
Set:
Exercise 1. Affirmative: write was / were + verb-ing
Write the correct Past Continuous form of the verb in brackets. Use was with I / he / she / it, were with you / we / they. Don't forget the -ing ending.
Set:
1
She (read) a book at 9 PM last night.
2
I (cook) dinner when you called.
3
They (play) football all afternoon.
4
He (work) from home yesterday.
5
We (watch) a film at that time.
6
The dog (sleep) on the sofa all morning.
7
It (rain) all night long.
8
My parents (visit) my aunt this time last week.
9
She (run) in the park when it started to rain.
10
The children (make) a lot of noise when I arrived.
+ Affirmative
Subjectwas / wereverb-ing.
I was cooking. · She was running. · They were playing.
− Negative
Subjectwasn't / weren'tverb-ing.
I wasn't cooking. · She wasn't running. · They weren't playing.
? Question
Was / Weresubjectverb-ing?
Was I cooking? · Was she running? · Were they playing?
-ing spelling rules
Most verbs → add -ing
work → working · play → playing · read → reading
Ends in -e → drop the -e, add -ing
make → making · come → coming · write → writing
Short verb (CVC) → double the final consonant
run → running · sit → sitting · swim → swimming · stop → stopping
Ends in -ie → change to -y, add -ing
die → dying · lie → lying · tie → tying
was vs. were: quick reference
Subject
Auxiliary
I / He / She / It
was
You / We / They
were
Warning: Never use didn't with continuous forms! She wasn't working ✅ She didn't working ❌
when & while patterns
Past Continuous + when + Past Simple (interrupted action)
I was cooking when the phone rang.
while + Past Continuous … Past Continuous (parallel actions)
While she was reading, he was cooking.
Time expressions
at 8 o'clockat that timethis time yesterdaywhenwhileall morningall eveningall nightall day long