Item 15. 1 past continuous (positive, negative, Interrogative)

Exercise 1. Complete the questions. Use was/were -ing. Use what/where/why if necessary.

1 (you/live) Where were you living in 1990? 2 (you/do) ……at 2 o'clock? 3 (it/rain) ……when you got up? 4 (Ann/drive) ……so fast? 5 (Tim/wear) ……a suit yesterday?

In London. I was asleep. No, it was sunny. Because she was in a hurry. No, a T-shirt and jeans.

Exercise 2. You saw Joe in the street yesterday afternoon, he was going shopping. What was he doing? Write positive or negative sentences.

1 (wear / a jacket) He wasn’t wearing a jacket.

2 (carry / a bag) ……

3 (go / to the dentist) ……

4 (wear / a hat) ……

5 (ride / a bicycle) ……

6 (eat / an ice-cream) ……
7 (carry / an umbrella) ……
8 (go / home) ……

Exercise 3. What were you doing at the following times? Write one sentence as in the examples. The past continuous is not always necessary (see the second example).

1 (at 8 o'clock yesterday evening) I was having dinner with some friends.

2 (at 5 o'clock last Saturday) I was on a train on my way to London.

3 (at 10.15 yesterday morning)

4 (at 4.30 this morning)

5 (at 7.45 yesterday evening)

6 (half an hour ago)

Exercise 4. Use your own ideas to complete these sentences. Use the past continuous.

1 Tom burnt his hand while he was cooking the dinner.

2 The doorbell rang while I……

3 We saw an accident while we……

4 Mary fell asleep while she……

5 The television was on but nobody……