Grammar Practice Past Continuous 

Ex. 1 Complete the sentences with the past progressive.
1. The girls were playing (play) cards.
2. Greg was looking (look) for his wallet.
3. Mr Miller wasn’t washing (not wash) his car.
4. Susan was doing (do) her homework.
5. They weren’t playing (not play) football yesterday afternoon.
6. I was waiting (wait) for her in the park.
7. Carol and I were having (have) dinner when he arrived.
8. We were playing (play) the guitar when she entered.
9. Tom wasn’t swimming (not swim) in the pool.
10. The boys were cycling (cycle) home from school.
11. She was working (work) in her office.
12. I wasn’t studying (not study) the new words.
13. Ann was lying (lie) on the beach.
14. We were sitting (sit) on the bench for a long time.
15. He was phoning (phone) his aunt.

Ex. 2 Write down the past progressive of the verbs in brackets.
1. We were writing (write) the essay together.
2. Frank was preparing (prepare) breakfast.
3. Mrs Summers was not listening (not listen) to him.
4. Daniel was doing (do) the shopping.
5. They were not reading (not read) the book.
6. I was having (have) a shower.
7. He was not watching (not watch) TV.
8. We were swimming (swim) in the sea.
9. Tom and I were visiting (vist) the castle.
10. The sun was shining (shine).
11. She was cleaning (clean) the windows.
12. I was showing (show) them most of the sights.
13. Ann was not taking (not take) a lot of photos.
14. We were playing (play) voleyball on the beach.
15. They were talking (talk) to their neighbours.

Ex. 3 Use the past progressive to complete the sentences.
1. They were playing cards. (play)
2. I was sweeping the floor. (sweep)
3. Sam was reading the newspaper. (read)
4. A lot of children were waiting at the station. (wait)
5. Mum was working in her office. (work)
6. He was walking to school. (walk)
7. When they looked at her, she was smiling. (smile)
8. We were playing outside when it started to rain. (play)
9. The boys were watching their favourite TV series. (watch)
10. I was working yesterday afternoon. (work)
11. Tim and Maggie were sitting in the sun. (sit)
12. were you swimming in the sea? (you swim)
13. They were decorating their house. (decorate)
14. Nora was handing out leaflets. (hand out)
15. was he relaxing on the beach? (he relax)

Ex. 4
Last night, while I was doing my homework, Angela (call) called. She said she (call) was calling me on her cell phone from her biology classroom at UCLA. I asked her if she (wait) was waiting for class, but she said that the professor was at the front of the hall lecturing while she (talk) was talking to me. I couldn’t believe she (make) was making a phone call during the lecture. I asked what was going on.

She said her biology professor was so boring that several of the students (sleep, actually) were actually sleeping in class. Some of the students (talk) were talking about their plans for the weekend and the student next to her (draw) was drawing a picture of a horse. When Angela (tell) told me she was not satisfied with the class, I (mention) mentioned that my biology professor was quite good and (suggest) suggested that she switch to my class.

While we were talking, I (hear) heard her professor yell, «Miss, are you making a phone call?» Suddenly, the line went dead. I (hang) hung up the phone and went to the kitchen to make dinner. As I (cut) was cutting vegetables for a salad, the phone rang once again. It (be) was Angela, but this time she wasn’t sitting in class.