Your task
Fill in the gap in each sentence with the correct word or phrase.
0 / 15 answered
Your score
0 / 150%
Keep practising! Focus on the explanations below.
Quick rule
The past continuous (also called the past progressive) describes an action that was already in progress at a specific moment in the past. Unlike the past simple — which records a completed event — the past continuous focuses on the ongoing, unfinished nature of an action.
whilewhenasat [time] last night
See full explanation ↓About this exercise
This B1 set focuses on past continuous — 15 questions, each with an explanation of why the answer is right. English has twelve main tense forms: four presents (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous), four pasts, and four futures. Each encodes a different perspective on time and aspect — whether an event is complete or ongoing, relevant to the present or purely historical, habitual or happening right now.
The rule in 30 seconds
The past continuous (also called the past progressive) describes an action that was already in progress at a specific moment in the past. Unlike the past simple — which records a completed event — the past continuous focuses on the ongoing, unfinished nature of an action.
Subject + was / were + verb‑ingwhileparallel / background action
whenintroduces interruption
assimultaneous actions
at [time] last nightexact past moment
all morning / all dayextended duration
stillaction continuing