Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).

1. When I phoned my friends, they (play) monopoly.

2. Yesterday at six I (prepare) dinner.

3. The kids (play) 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) in the park.

10. I (listen) to the radio while my sister (watch) TV.

11. When I arrived, They (play) cards.

12. We (study) English yesterday at 4:00 pm .

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

Write down the ing form of the following words. Mind the exceptions in spelling.

1. live

2. run

3. give

4. swim

5. lie

6. sit

7. travel

Simple Past Past Progressive

irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs past form of 'be' + ing form of verb
 I spoke I was speaking
you were speaking
regular verbs: verb + ed
he / she / it was speaking
I worked we were speaking
they were speaking

Exceptions

Exceptions when adding 'ed' : Exceptions when adding 'ing' :

when the final letter is e, only add d. silent e is dropped (but: does not apply for -ee)

Example: love - loved Example: come - coming

but: agree - agreeing
after a short, stressed vowel, the final
consonant is doubled after a short, stressed vowel, the final

Example: admit - admitted consonant is doubled

Example: sit - sitting

final l is always doubled in British English (not
in American English) final l is always doubled in British English (not

Example: travel - travelled in American English)

Example: travel - travelling

after a consonant, final y becomes i. (but: not
after a vowel) final ie becomes y.

Example: worry - he worried Example: lie - lying

but: play - he played

Decide whether to use 'was' or 'were'.

1. Boris learning English.

2. They swimming in the lake.

3. Your father repairing the car.

4. I reading a magazine.

5. You packing your bag.

6. My friends watching the match on TV.

7. It raining.

8. The dog barking.

9. The children brushing their teeth.

10. Anne and Maureen singing a song.

Write positive sentences in past progressive.

1. you / play / cards

2. Alice / walk / around the lake

3. Caron / listen / to the radio

4. we / read / a book about Australia

5. Linda / look for / her ring

6. Fiona and Sam / visit / the castle

7. Ben / wash / the car

8. Kim and I / wait / in the park

9. My sister / feed / the birds

10. Greg and Phil / count / their money

Write negative sentences in past progressive.

1. Sarah and Luke / not / work

2. Mister Miller / not / teach / chemistry

3. Barry / not / drive / a lorry

4. Mandy / not / have / lunch

5. Albert / not / play / tennis

6. Taylor and Bob / not / cycle / home

7. Annie / not / clean / the table

8. Benjamin / not / write / an e-mail

9. Jane / not / exercise / in the gym

10. Robert / not / buy / flowers

Write questions in past progressive.

1. Rachel / feed / the cat

2. the children / paint / a picture

3. Clark / repair / his computer

4. Hazel / swim / in the pool

5. Lucas / have / a shower

6. Jason and Aron / run / down the street

7. Betty / do / her homework

8. Cindy and James / make / dinner

9. Rebecca / watch / Star Trek

10. Anita and Linda / sit / in the kitchen

Ask for the information in the bold part of the sentence.

1. Henry was living in London last year.

2. Anita was working at a restaurant last week.

3. Ricky was waiting for Holly.

4. Sarah was singing a song.

5. Joe was reading a book.

6. At six o'clock, Myriam and her family were having dinner.

7. Bob was walking home because his car had a flat tire.
8. At half past seven, Mister Logan was driving home.

9. The children were playing in the sandbox.

10. Claire was visiting her best friend.

Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).

1. When I phoned my friends, they (play) monopoly.

2. Yesterday at six I (prepare) dinner.

3. The kids (play) in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.

4. I (practise) the guitar when he came home.

5. We (not / cycle) all day.

6. While Aaron (work) in his room, his friends (swim) in the pool.

7. I tried to tell them the truth but they (listen / not) .

8. What (you / do) yesterday?

9. Most of the time we (sit) in the park.

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses,
then click the "Check" button to check your answers.

1. A: What (you, do) when the accident occurred?

B: I (try) to change a light bulb that had burnt out.

2. After I (find) the wallet full of money, I (go, immediately) to

the police and (turn) it in.

3. The doctor (say) that Tom (be) too sick to go to work and

that he (need) to stay at home for a couple of days.

4. Sebastian (arrive) at Susan's house a little before 9:00 PM, but she (be,

not) there. She (study, at the library) for her final

examination in French.

5. Sandy is in the living room watching television. At this time yesterday, she (watch,

also) television. That's all she ever does!

6. A: I (call) you last night after dinner, but you (be, not) there.

Where were you?

B: I (work) out at the fitness center.

7. When I (walk) into the busy office, the secretary (talk) on

the phone with a customer, several clerks (work, busily) at their desks,

and two managers (discuss, quietly) methods to improve customer

service.

8. I (watch) a mystery movie on TV when the electricity went out. Now I am

never going to find out how the movie ends.

9. Sharon (be) in the room when John told me what happened, but she

didn't hear anything because she (listen, not) .

10. It's strange that you (call) because I (think, just) about

you.

11. The Titanic (cross) the Atlantic when it (strike) an iceberg.

12. When I entered the bazaar, a couple of merchants (bargain,

busily) and (try) to sell their goods to naive tourists who

(hunt) for souvenirs. Some young boys (lead) their donkeys

through the narrow streets on their way home. A couple of men (argue)

over the price of a leather belt. I (walk) over to a man who

(sell) fruit and (buy) a banana.

13. The firemen (rescue) the old woman who (be) trapped on

the third floor of the burning building.

14. She was so annoying! She (leave, always) her dirty dishes in the

sink. I think she (expect, actually) me to do them for her.

15. Samantha (live) in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she

(live) there when the Berlin Wall came down.

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses, then click
the "Check" button to check your answers.

1. Judy: How long (be) in Canada?

Claude: I (study) here for more than three years.

2. I (have) the same car for more than ten years. I'm thinking about buying

a new one.

3. I (love) chocolate since I was a child. You might even call me a

"chocoholic."
4. Matt and Sarah (have) some difficulties in their relationship lately, so

they (go) to a marriage counselor. I hope they work everything out.

5. John (work) for the government since he graduated from Harvard

University. Until recently, he (enjoy) his work, but now he is talking about

retiring.

6. Lately, I (think) about changing my career because I

(become) dissatisfied with the conditions at my company.

7. I (see) Judy for more than five years and during that time I

(see) many changes in her personality.

Change the verb into the correct form:

1. Yesterday at 5 o'clock I (eat).

2. Last night, at 10 o'clock she (dance).

3. Tim (cook) while Susan (watch) TV.

4. Barbara (paint), and Joe (sleep).

5. While you (rest), I (clean) the house.

6. While we (swim), the other team (run).

7. Jim (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 (listen) to music.

12. While the singer (sing), the crowd (jump).

13. The teacher (sleep), and the students (laugh).

 14. An hour ago I (jog).

15. They (always drink) too much at parties.

Complete the sentences. Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the past continuous. Type the
sentences into the box.

1. While I (drive), I (have) an accident.

2. Kate (have) dinner and then she (do) her homework.

3. The thieves (hide) in the kitchen when the police (come) in.

4. Sam (plan) a party and then he (phone) his friends.

5. While we (clean) the house, we (break) some glasses.

6. Alan (look) out of the window when he (see) a UFO.

Type in the verbs in the Past Progressive.

1. Richard (work) on his computer at 9 oclock yesterday.

2. Lucy and Tom (have) dinner.
3. I (read) an article in the newspaper.
4. The children (watch) a film on TV at that time.
5. Paula (chat) on the phone with a friend.

Type in the verbs in the Past Progressive.

1. When I came into the living room, the cats (sit) on the table.
2. I could tell by his eyes that he (lie) to me.
3. We (play) Monopoly when our neighbours rang at the door.
4. Helen (listen) to the radio when she heard a strange noise in the garden.
5. I (prepare) dinner yesterday when I noticed that the
cooker (work/not) .

Write questions in the Past Progressive.

1. (what/do/you) yesterday at six?

2. (Jane/practise) the piano when you came home?
3. (who/talk/to you) when I saw you last night?
4. (what/discuss/they) when she went over to them?
5. (type/she) a message when you interrupted her?

1. The children (play) in the park when it started to rain.

2. I was watching a movie when I (notice) him standing outside.

3. She arrived when I (have) a bath, so I couldn't answer the door!

4. I (see) a famous celebrity when I was shopping on Oxford Street yesterday.

5. She was drinking too much so she (fall) . I hope she learnt her lesson!
 6. Charlie (hide) in my wardrobe when Lola found him. She screamed!

7. The computer (break) when I was checking my bank balance.

8. She was smiling until the terrible singer (come) on stage.

9. I (live) in Cape Town when Michelle Obama visited.

10. My parents were watching me carefully but my brother (distract)

1. A : - What (you / do) when these people

arrived ? Watching television ?

2. B : - No, we (play) cards with M. Wilson, the

neighbour.

3. A : - But the woman (tell) me you were watching

television !

4. B : That's a lie ! We (not watch) television ! Ask

M. Wilson !

5. He (want) to leave when they came in.

6. A : What (these people / say) when they saw M.

Wilson ?

7. B : ' We (walk) past your house when we saw the

light', they said,
8. but we (not believe) them.

9. A : What (they / want) do you think ?

10. B : We don't know. First they (sit) and watched

us play but

11. suddenly the woman (begin) to cry.

12. A : What about the man ? (he / do) anything to

comfort his wife ?

13. B : Nothing. He didn't even notice. He (watch)

us play.

14. A : Do you think these people (wait for) some

help ?

15. B : Sorry, but we (not ask) them anything... so

they left.