PAST PROGRESSIVE

The past progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past.

Form

	Positive	Negative	Question
I / he / she / it	I was speaking.	I was not speaking.	Was I speaking?
you / we / they	You were speaking.	You were not speaking.	Were you speaking?

Exceptions in Spelling

Exceptions in spelling when adding ing	Example
final e is dropped (but: ee is not changed)	come – coming (but: agree – agreeing)
after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled	sit – sitting
l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English)	travel – travelling
final ie becomes y	lie – lying

Use of Past Progressive

• puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past
  Example: He was playing football.
• two actions happening at the same time (in the past)
  Example: While she was preparing dinner, he was washing the dishes.
• action going on at a certain time in the past
  Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

Signal Words of Past Progressive

• while, as long as

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/past-progressive

                                     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lv_797iq6E

                                 
EXERCISES:

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ing

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 →

Was or Were

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

1. Boris waswere learning English.
2. They waswere swimming in the lake.
3. Your father waswere repairing the car.
4. I waswere reading a magazine.
5. You waswere packing your bag.
6. My friends waswere watching the match on TV.
7. It waswere raining.
8. The dog waswere barking.
9. The children waswere brushing their teeth.
10. Anne and Maureen waswere singing a song.

Positive Sentences

Yesterday at 3 pm the following people were in the middle of an action.
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 

Negative Sentences

Somebody believes that yesterday at 3 pm the following people were in the middle of an action. That cannot be, however, as yesterday at 3 pm these people were not doing those things.
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 

Questions with Interrogatives

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.