Past Continuous · Exercises
A1Beginner practice
First steps: was / were + -ing for actions in progress.
Play
- Practice10 exercises at your own pace
- Time Attack60 seconds, as many as you can
- Survival3 lives, harder as you go
- Tense SortDrag sentences into their tense — 60 seconds
- Timelines10 sentences to match to their timelines
- A1 Boss12 hits before you lose 3 lives
- Irregular MatchPair verbs with their past forms — 60 seconds
Want to mix tenses, go endless or pick exercise types? Set up your own session.
What you’ll practise at A1
- was / were + -ing
- Spelling: making, running, lying
- Negatives: wasn’t / weren’t
- Questions: Were you…?
- Short answers: Yes, I was / No, they weren’t
- At a time in the past (at 8 pm yesterday)
- Timelines: what the tense means
Need a refresher? Learn the past continuous: rules, tables and audio examples.
Sample exercises
A taste of what’s inside. In practice mode every exercise is freshly generated.
Answer with the past continuous.
What was Nadia doing at nine this morning? — She _____ (eat) breakfast.
Show answer
What was Nadia doing at nine this morning? — She was eating breakfast.
To say what was in progress at a moment in the past, use the past continuous: was / were + -ing.
Write the verb in the past continuous.
Ben _____ (drink) orange juice at eight last night.
Show answer
Ben was drinking orange juice at eight last night.
Past continuous: was / were + verb-ing. I / he / she / it was, you / we / they were. Just add -ing: drink → drinking.
Which sentence matches the timeline?
(Timeline: In progress at a moment in the past)
Show answer
She was working in a café.
“was working” is the past continuous (was / were + -ing): in progress at a moment in the past.
Write the verb in the past continuous.
You _____ (wash) the dog at eleven last night.
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You were washing the dog at eleven last night.
Past continuous: was / were + verb-ing. I / he / she / it was, you / we / they were. Just add -ing: wash → washing.
Choose the right word.
They _____ cooking breakfast at nine this morning.
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They were cooking breakfast at nine this morning.
Use were with you, we and they: They were cooking breakfast at nine this morning.
Complete the negative sentence.
Lucas _____ waiting for his friends at eight last night.
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Lucas wasn't waiting for his friends at eight last night.
Negative: was not (wasn't) + -ing. Lucas wasn't waiting for his friends.