PAST CONTINUOUS

EXPLANATION
Study the grammar explanation in the boxes below.

Study the example

● John and Paul started playing football at 7:00 pm.

● John and Paul finished playing football at 8:00 pm.

● So, at 7:30 pm they were playing football.

Explanation

The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the
past and were still going on when another event occurred.

An action or situation had already started before this time, but had not finished.

Examples:
● The phone rang while I was eating my dinner.
● John was skiing when he broke his leg.

Past Continuous Past simple

In the middle of an action Completed Action

I was walking when it started to rain. I walked home from work yesterday.

We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something
happened in the middle of something else:

● John called while we were drinking cocktails.

● It was snowing when I woke up.
● I saw Jane yesterday, she was sitting on the grass outside her house.
● I hurt my hand while I was playing golf.

ESL Pals 1 Grammar Worksheet

 HOW TO FORM THE PAST CONTINUOUS
Study the grammar tables below.

Positive statements using the “Past Continuous”

I was watching
You were dancing
He was Singing
She was drinking
It was eating
We were sleeping
They were working

Negative statements using the “Past Continuous”

I was not watching

You were not dancing
He was not Singing
She was not drinking
It was not eating
We were not sleeping
They were not working

Questions with the “Past Continuous”

Was I watching
Were you dancing
Was he Singing
Was she drinking
Was it eating
Were we sleeping
Were yhey working

ESL Pals 2 Grammar Worksheet

 COMPLETE THE SENTENCES
Complete the sentences below using the past continuous.

1. I saw her yesterday when she was _______________ (walk) to school.

2. The party was great. We were _______________ (dance) all night.

3. They were _______________ (argue) about politics so I went home.

4. John is so funny, he was _______________(tell) me jokes all night.

5. I didn’t answer your call last night because I was _______________ (sleep).

6. We were shocked because she was _______________ (tell) so many lies.

7. Liam and Oliver were _______________ (study) in the library at 6:00 am.

8. She was _______________ (shout) so loudly yesterday that I had to leave.

9. I was _______________ (clean) my room when I heard the news.

10. I think I was _______________ (teach) at 5:00 pm yesterday.

11. She fell over because she was _______________ (run) too fast.

12. I couldn’t answer the phone because I was _______________ (drive).

13. The dog was _______________ (bark) all night so I didn’t sleep well.

14. Tom was _______________ (work) all day yesterday so he’s tired today.

15. We were _______________ (play) golf at 10:00am yesterday,

ESL Pals 3 Grammar Worksheet

 COMPLETE THE DIALOGUES
Complete the dialogues below using the past continuous or past simple.

Dialogue 1

Ken: I __________ (see) you yesterday at 8:00 am.

Tom: Ah yes, I was __________ (walk) to work.

Ken: I __________ (think) you were __________ (run)!

Tom: Ah, I was ________ (run) because I ________ (have) a meeting to attend.

Dialogue 2
Jan: What were you __________ (do) at 5 pm last night?

Dave: I was __________ (drive) home from work. Why?

Jan: I was __________ (try) to call you but your phone did not __________ (ring).

Dave: Sorry, I _________ (turn) my phone off! I was _________ (listen) to the radio.

Dialogue 3
Beth: How __________ (be) the party?

Sarah: It __________ (be) terrible! Everyone was __________ (argue) about

football.

Beth: Oh no! Was everyone __________ (drink) alcohol too?

Sarah: Yes! I wasn’t __________ (drink) alcohol so I __________ (drive) home.

Dialogue 4
Ken: How __________ (be) your birthday party?

Tom: I was __________ (have) a terrible time until David __________ (arrive).

Ken: What __________ (do) David do?

Tom: He __________ (bring) presents and was __________ (tell) jokes all night!

ESL Pals 4 Grammar Worksheet

 CREATE YOUR OWN SENTENCES
Use your own ideas to complete the sentences below using the past continuous.

1. The computer screen froze while ______________________________________

2. John saw her yesterday when _________________________________________

3. She fell asleep while ________________________________________________

4. The radio was on but ________________________________________________

5. I went home early from the party because he ___________________________

6. He found $20 yesterday when ________________________________________

7. When I arrived at work he ____________________________________________

8. The doorbell rang while ______________________________________________

9. I got to work late because ____________________________________________

10. I fell over because I __________________________________________________

11. He stopped talking when _____________________________________________

12. I didn’t hear the man shouting because _________________________________

13. I didn’t see you because ______________________________________________

14. I had to leave the office because he ___________________________________

15. The phone rang while ________________________________________________

ESL Pals 5 Grammar Worksheet

 CHOOSE PAST CONTINUOUS OR PAST SIMPLE
Complete the sentences below using the past continuous or the past simple.

1. The phone ______________ (ring) while I ______________ (drive).

2. I ______________ (walk) when I ______________ (hear) a strange noise.

3. She ______________ (miss) her bus because she ______________ (walk) slowly.

4. I ______________ (run) when you ______________ (call) so I didn’t answer.

5. He ____________ (cycle) fast but he ____________ (managed) to avoid the bus.

6. She ______________ (listen) to music when the bus ______________ (stop).

7. I ____________ (see) Paul at the bus stop he ____________ (go) to the city centre.

8. I ______________ (go) home early because she ______________ (shout) loudly.

9. I ____________ (no / hear) the alarm as I ____________ (concentrate) on my work.

10. Tom ______________ (wait) for me when I ______________ (arrive).

ESL Pals 6 Grammar Worksheet

 ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
Answer the questions below using the past continuous and/or the past simple.

1. What were you doing 1 hour ago?

2. What were you doing at 8:00 pm yesterday?

3. What were you doing at 6:00 am this morning?

4. Describe what you did last weekend?

5. Describe what you did yesterday morning.

ESL Pals 7 Grammar Worksheet

 6. What were you doing at 12:01 am on January 1st?

7. Describe what you did for your last birthday.

8. What were you doing on Saturday night at 9:00 pm?

9. Describe what you did last Christmas.

10. What were you doing at 5:00 pm last Monday?

ESL Pals 8 Grammar Worksheet

HOMEWORK
WRITING PRACTICE
Complete the writing task in the box below. Use the example answer as a guide.

Task

Describe your morning routine from yesterday using the past continuous tense.

Instructions:
● Write a short paragraph describing your morning routine from yesterday.
● Use the past continuous tense to describe the actions you were doing during each
part of your morning routine.
● Include at least 5 actions in your paragraph.
● Edit and revise your work for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Example answer

"Yesterday morning, I woke up early and started my day with some exercise. While I was
stretching, I listened to some music to get myself ready for the day.

After my workout, I was feeling energised, so I decided to take a quick shower. While I
was showering, I was thinking about all the things I needed to do that day.

Next, I got dressed and made myself a cup of coffee. While I was waiting for the coffee to
brew, I checked my emails to see if there was anything urgent that needed my attention.

Finally, I grabbed my bag and headed out the door. While I was walking to work, I saw
some of my neighbours out for their morning walk. Overall, it was a productive and
refreshing morning."

ESL Pals 9 Grammar Worksheet