1. Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).
1. When I phoned my friends, they (play)
monopoly.
2. Yesterday at six I (prepare)
3. The kids (play)
dinner.
in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.
4. I (practice)
the guitar when he came home.
5. We (not / cycle)
all day.
6. While Alan (work)
in his room, his friends (swim)
in the
pool.
7. I tried to tell them the truth but they (not / listen )
8. What (you / do)
yesterday?
9. Most of the time we (sit)
10. I (listen)
in the park.
to the radio while my sister (watch)
11. When I arrived, They (play)
12. We (study)
TV.
cards.
English yesterday at 4:00 pm .
2. Write correct sentences:
Yesterday at 6 pm your family were doing different things. Write positive
sentences in past progressive.
1. My mother / read / a novel
2. My father / watch / a movie
3. My elder sister / writing / in her diary
4. My two brothers / listen / to the radio
5. My little sister and I / not / watch / a movie
6. We / talk / about school
3. Make the positive or negative past continuous
1) Julie
(sleep) at three o'clock.
2) You
(study) at three o'clock.
3) Luke
(read) at three oclock
4) I
(work) at three oclock.
5) They
(eat) chocolate at three oclock.
6) John
(play) tennis at three oclock
7) We
(watch) TV at three oclock.
8) He
(use) the internet at three oclock.
9) You
(cook) lunch at three oclock
10) We
(travel) to London at three oclock.
11) Mrs Brown
12) Mr Black
13) Miss Jones
14) You
15) Dr Ford
(not/walk) in the garden when the murder happened
(not/work) in his study when the murder happened
(not/talk) to Mr. White when the murder happened
(not/play) cards when the murder happened.
(not/read) in his room when the murder happened
16) Mr. and Mrs. Green
(not/eat) in the dining room when the murder
happened.
17) Mr Blue
(not/drink) coffee in the library when the murder happened.
18) The maid
(not/clean) the bedrooms when the murder happened.
19) I
20) The dogs
(not/listen) to music when the murder happened
(not/play) outside when the murder happened
4. Choose the correct verb forms. Use Simple Past or the Past Progressive.
a. We sat/was sitting/were sitting at the breakfast table when the doorbell rang/was
ringing/were ringing.
b. He met/was meeting/were meeting a lot of friendly people while he worked/was
working/were working in California.
c. When they left/was leaving/were leaving the museum, the sun shone/was
shining/were shining.
d. The students played/was playing/were playing cards when the teacher came/was
coming/were coming in.
e. While the children slept/was sleeping/were sleeping, their parents watched/was
watching/were watching TV.
f. It started/was starting/were starting to rain while she watered/was watering/were
watering the flowers in her garden.
g. When I opened/was opening/were opening the door, it rained/was raining/were
raining.
h. While Henry had/was having/were having a drink at the bar, his wife swam/was
swimming/were swimming in the sea.
i. He heard/was hearing/were hearing a loud bang while he talked/was talking/were
talking to his friend.
j. While he took/was taking/were taking a shower, his dogs ate/was eating/were eating
his steaks.
Change the verb into the correct form
1. Yesterday at 5 o'clock I
(eat).
5.
2. Last night, at 10 o'clock she
3. Tim
(cook) while Susan
(dance).
(watch) TV.
4. Barbara
(paint), and Joe
(sleep).
5. While you
(rest), I
6. While we
(swim), the other team
7. Jim
(clean) the house.
(run).
(always come) late to work.
8. Dorothy
(always smoke) in the room.
9. Jack and Bob
(always fight) about something.
10. These two
(constantly chat).
11. James
(read) and Emily
12. While the singer
13. The teacher
(sing), the crowd
15. They
(jog).
(ring) while I
(cook) dinner when Sue
18. When the dog
(bark), they
19. While we
(dance), the music
21. While we
22. The prisoner
23. My boss
24. While I
25. When they
26. You
(laugh).
(always drink) too much at parties.
16. The phone
20. Sam
(jump).
(sleep), and the students
14. An hour ago I
17. I
(listen) to music.
(sleep).
(arrive).
(try) to sleep.
(stop).
(listen) to music, so he
(talk), someone
(not hear) you.
(steal) my bag.
(run) away while the policemen were
(call) me while I
(work), my husband
(come) in everybody
(leave) the office when it
(joke).
(eat).
(ask) my help.
(watch) the movie.
(start) to rain.
27. Justin
(park) his car, when the engine
(stop) working.
28. They
(have) a nice time when the baby
(start) to cry.
29. The kids
(play) when the mothers suddenly
30. We
(sing), when we
(call) them.
(hear) a loud noise.
Choose the correct answer
6.
When
saw
Dave,
he
__________.
is
working
worked
was working
2.
You
had
good
time
at
the
party,
__________
you?
hadn't
didn't
weren't
3.
__________
Were
when
the
you
telephone
rang?
sleeping
Did
you
sleep
Were sleeping
4.
Dave,
when
__________
the
were
ESL
Cafe
on
you
the
Web?
begin
began
did you begin
5.
You
__________
me,
did
you?
understood
weren't
understanding
didn't understand
6.
When
you
__________
yesterday
got
morning?
up
did
you
get
up
were you getting up
7.
While
__________
to
work,
saw
an
accident.
drove
was
driving
did drive
8.
__________
on
this
quiz?
Did
you
Were
you
Did you do
7.
well
Choose the correct answer
1.The children ________ outside.
were playing
was playing
2. The dog ________ at us.
were barking
was barking
3.My teacher ________ the exercise to me.
was explaining
were explaining
4. I ________ to my mp3 player.
were listening
was listening
5.Those people ________ towards the library.
were walking
was walking
6.The cook ________ a tasty meal.
were preparing
was preparing
7.I ________ to fix my computer.
were trying
was trying
8.My friend and I ________ basketball.
was playing
were playing
9.The police ________ the thief.
were chasing
was chasing
10. My sister and my brother ________.
was singing
were singing
8.
Make sentences in the past continuous tense using the verb given in the brackets.
1. The boy (sleep).
2. I (read) when the lights went out.
3. She (wash) the clothes.
4. I - (cook) dinner when the visitors arrived.
5. Julia - (do) her homework at 8 pm.
6. James (repair) the car.
7. Janet - (rehearse) for the play.
8. Sophia (wait) for the bus.
9. The birds (chirp).
10. The boys (learn) their lesson.
11. She (get) dressed.
12. He (search) for his purse.
13. The cat - (chase) the mouse.
14. It - (rain).
15. The wind (blow) fiercely.
16. The dogs (bark).
9. Type in the verbs in the Past Progressive.
Yesterday at nine oclock, these people were right in the middle of doing
something. What were they doing?
1. Richard (work)
on his computer at 9 oclock yesterday.
2. Lucy and Tom (have)
3. I (read)
dinner.
an article in the newspaper.
4. The children (watch)
5. Paula (chat)
a film on TV at that time.
on the phone with a friend.
1. When I came into the living room, the cats (sit)
2. I could tell by his eyes that he (lie)
3. We (play)
4. Helen (listen)
on the table.
to me.
Monopoly when our neighbours rang at the door.
to the radio when she heard a strange noise in the
garden.
5. I (prepare)
cooker (work/not)
1.
(what/do/you)
2. (Jane/practise)
3. (who/talk/to you)
4. (what/discuss/they)
5. (type/she)
dinner
yesterday
when
noticed
.
yesterday at six?
the piano when you came home?
when I saw you last night?
when she went over to them?
a message when you interrupted her?
that
the
Rasp ex4
1. We were sitting at the breakfast table when the doorbell rang.
2. He met a lot of friendly people while he was working in California.
3. When they left the museum, the sun was shining.
4. The students were playing cards when the teacher came in.
5. While the children were sleeping, their parents were watching TV.
6. It started to rain while she was watering the flowers in her garden.
7. When I opened the door, it was raining.
8. While Henry was having a drink at the bar, his wife was swimming in the sea.
9. He heard a loud bang while he was talking to his friend.
10. While he was taking a shower, his dogs were eating his steaks.
Rasp ex6
1. When I saw Dave, he __________.
*
*
is working
worked
was working
2. You had a good time at the party, __________ you?
*
hadn't
didn't
weren't
3. __________ when the telephone rang?
*
*
Were you sleeping
Did you sleep
Were sleeping
4. Dave, when __________ the ESL Cafe on the Web?
were you begin
began
did you begin
5. You __________ me, did you?
*
understood
weren't understanding
didn't understand
6. When __________ yesterday morning?
*
you got up
did you get up
were you getting up
7. While I __________ to work, I saw an accident.
*
*
drove
was driving
did drive
8. __________ well on this quiz?
*
Did you
Were you
Did you do
Rasp ex9
1. ichard was working on his computer at 9 oclock yesterday.
2. Lucy and Tom were having dinner.
3. I was reading an article in the newspaper.
4. The children were watching a film on TV at that time.
5. Paula was chatting on the phone with a friend.
Type in the verbs in the Past Progressive.
1. When I came into the living room, the cats were sitting on the table.
2. I could tell by his eyes that he was lying to me.
3. We were playing Monopoly when our neighbours rang at the door.
4. Helen was listening to the radio when she heard a strange noise in the garden.
5. I was preparing dinner yesterday when I noticed that the cooker was not
working.
Write questions in the Past Progressive.
1. What were you doing yesterday at six?
2. Was Jane practising the piano when you came home?
3. Who was talking to you when I saw you last night?
4. What were they discussing when she went over to them?
5. Was she typing a message when you interrupted her?
