Past Continuous Tense Exercises & Worksheet

Use of Past Continuous Tense

The Past Continuous tense describes actions that were in progress at a specific moment in the past. It is often used to set the scene, talk about interrupted actions, or describe two actions happening at the same time.

Example: I was watching TV at 8 p.m. last night.

🔧 Form of the Past Continuous

Subject + was/were + verb(-ing)

• I/he/she/it → was
• you/we/they → were

📚When to Use Past Continuous Tense

• To describe an action in progress at a specific time in the past:
  At 6 p.m., I was cooking dinner.
• To talk about two actions happening at the same time:
  She was singing while I was playing the guitar.
• To describe a longer action that was interrupted by a shorter one:
  I was walking to school when it started to rain.

⚡ Quick Tips

• Use "was" with I, he, she, it and "were" with you, we, they.
• Always use the -ing form of the verb.
• Use "while" to connect two long actions:
  While I was studying, he was cooking.
• Use "when" to introduce the short interrupting action:
  I was sleeping when the phone rang.