Forming the Past Continuous Tense (Wh- question word) was / were + subject + the ing (Gerund) form of the verb (When What Where Who) Was Were I he she it you we they Sample sentences reading? going? playing? raining? writing? Yes/No questions: Were you buying clothes in the shop? Short answer: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn t. Wh-question: Why were you running so fast yesterday? Question word Who? What? When? Where? Why? Whose? How? Which? How many? How much? What colour? What time? Question words When to use people time / date place reason possessor manner (countable nouns) (uncountable nouns) colour time Task 1 - Rewrite the sentences into interrogative then give short answer. Look at the example. e.g.: You were painting the walls of his house yesterday. Y! Were you painting the walls of the house yesterday? Yes, I was. 1) They were swimming in the lake yesterday afternoon. N 2) He was sleeping on the coach. Y 3) I was reading a book. N 4) We were having breakfast at 7 am yesterday. Y 5) Sarah was painting the fence. N 6) The kids were colouring the picture. Y 7) You were talking about the accident. N 8) The dog was barking all last night. Y 9) We were listening to the radio yesterday morning. Y 10) Pete was washing his car last weekend. N Useful to know If you ask about the subject of the sentence, you have to use 3 rd personal singular form of the verb. And the word order is the same as in an affirmative sentence. e.g.: Who was asking me? What was coming there? Task 2 Fill in the gaps with the interrogative form of the verbs in the brackets. e.g.: Were you writing a letter? 1) What Kim? (sing) 2) the ducks in the lake? (swim) 3) the boy TV yesterday? (watch) 4) When the fire? (burn) 5) the Lees blue T-shirts? (wear) 6) Who Mary? (question) 7) you his book yesterday? (read) 8) I badly last night? (dance) 9) Who they at? (look) 10) How many apples he from 2 to 4? (eat)
Task 3 Ask questions about e.g.: You were eating a cake.! What were you eating? 1) Kevin and Mike were building a sandcastle. 2) She was lying in the sun at 2 o clock yesterday. 3) The kids were playing in the schoolyard. 4) Ms Greene s daughter was waiting for the train. 5) They were chasing that rabbit. 6) Anne was reading a book because she didn t have first two lessons. 7) You were asking the doctor last Monday. 8) Mary was wearing a yellow scarf. 9) Ms Logan was teaching 10 students yesterday afternoon. 10) He was driving carefully. Task 4 Ask questions about 1) Grace and Andy were playing cards when I came in. 2) I was riding Tom s bike. 3) The children were drinking some juice. 4) The girls were drawing on the blackboard. 5) The teacher was counting the students. 6) The boys were running fast. 7) The leaves were falling from the tree. 8) Dad was showing in the bathroom. 9) The students were revising for the test. 10) Mum was watering these plants. Task 5 First write a question with the given information. Then write a full answer with the words in the bracket. Look at the example. e.g.: I was talking on the phone. (When) (At 5:30 yesterday)! When were you talking on the phone? I was talking on the phone at 5:30 yesterday. 1) Someone was sleeping. (Who) (My sister) 2) We were sitting somewhere. (Where) (In the park) 3) It was pouring from the ceiling. (What) (water) 4) I was doing something. (What) (Skip the rope) 5) His mum was cooking lunch. (Whose) (Peter s) 6) He was reading newspapers. (How many) (two) 7) Jason was writing an e-mail to her. (To whom) (Sarah) 8) The children were going to school. (How) (by car) 9) They were watching TV. (When) (all day yesterday) 10) Christine was hoovering. (What) (the carpet)
Forming the Past Continuous Tense (Wh- question word) was / were + subject + the ing (Gerund) form of the verb (When What Where Who) Was Were I he she it you we they Sample sentences reading? going? playing? raining? writing? Yes/No questions: Were you buying clothes in the shop? Short answer: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn t. Wh-question: Why were you running so fast yesterday? Question word Who? What? When? Where? Why? Whose? How? Which? How many? How much? What colour? What time? Question words When to use people time / date place reason possessor manner (countable nouns) (uncountable nouns) colour time Task 1 - Rewrite the sentences into interrogative then give short answer. Look at the example. e.g.: You were painting the walls of his house yesterday. Y! Were you painting the walls of the house yesterday? Yes, I was. 1) They were swimming in the lake yesterday afternoon. N 2) He was sleeping on the coach. Y 3) I was reading a book. N 4) We were having breakfast at 7 am yesterday. Y 5) Sarah was painting the fence. N 6) The kids were colouring the picture. Y 7) You were talking about the accident. N 8) The dog was barking all last night. Y 9) We were listening to the radio yesterday morning. Y 10) Pete was washing his car last weekend. N Useful to know If you ask about the subject of the sentence, you have to use 3 rd personal singular form of the verb. And the word order is the same as in an affirmative sentence. e.g.: Who was asking me? What was coming there? Task 2 Fill in the gaps with the interrogative form of the verbs in the brackets. e.g.: Were you writing a letter? 1) What Kim? (sing) 2) the ducks in the lake? (swim) 3) the boy TV yesterday? (watch) 4) When the fire? (burn) 5) the Lees blue T-shirts? (wear) 6) Who Mary? (question) 7) you his book yesterday? (read) 8) I badly last night? (dance) 9) Who they at? (look) 10) How many apples he from 2 to 4? (eat)
Task 3 Ask questions about e.g.: You were eating a cake.! What were you eating? 1) Kevin and Mike were building a sandcastle. 2) She was lying in the sun at 2 o clock yesterday. 3) The kids were playing in the schoolyard. 4) Ms Greene s daughter was waiting for the train. 5) They were chasing that rabbit. 6) Anne was reading a book because she didn t have first two lessons. 7) You were asking the doctor last Monday. 8) Mary was wearing a yellow scarf. 9) Ms Logan was teaching 10 students yesterday afternoon. 10) He was driving carefully. Task 4 Ask questions about 1) Grace and Andy were playing cards when I came in. 2) I was riding Tom s bike. 3) The children were drinking some juice. 4) The girls were drawing on the blackboard. 5) The teacher was counting the students. 6) The boys were running fast. 7) The leaves were falling from the tree. 8) Dad was showing in the bathroom. 9) The students were revising for the test. 10) Mum was watering these plants. Task 5 First write a question with the given information. Then write a full answer with the words in the bracket. Look at the example. e.g.: I was talking on the phone. (When) (At 5:30 yesterday)! When were you talking on the phone? I was talking on the phone at 5:30 yesterday. 1) Someone was sleeping. (Who) (My sister) 2) We were sitting somewhere. (Where) (In the park) 3) It was pouring from the ceiling. (What) (water) 4) I was doing something. (What) (Skip the rope) 5) His mum was cooking lunch. (Whose) (Peter s) 6) He was reading newspapers. (How many) (two) 7) Jason was writing an e-mail to her. (To whom) (Sarah) 8) The children were going to school. (How) (by car) 9) They were watching TV. (When) (all day yesterday) 10) Christine was hoovering. (What) (the carpet)
Key Task 1 1) Were they swimming in the lake yesterday afternoon? No, they weren t. 2) Was he sleeping on the coach? Yes, he was. 3) Were you reading a book? No, I wasn t. 4) Were you having breakfast at 7 am yesterday? Yes, we were. 5) Was Sarah painting the fence? No, she wasn t. 6) Were the kids colouring the picture? Yes, they were. 7) Were you talking about the accident? No, we weren t. 8) Was the dog barking all last night? Yes, it was. 9) Were you listening to the radio yesterday morning? Yes, we were. 10) Was Pete washing his car last weekend? No, he wasn t. Task 2 1) What was Kim singing? 2) Were the ducks swimming in the lake? 3) Was the boy watching TV yesterday? 4) When was the fire burning? 5) Were the Lees wearing blue T-shirts? 6) Who was Mary questioning? 7) Were you reading his book yesterday? 8) Was I dancing badly last night? 9) Who were they looking at? 10) How many apples was he eating from 2 to 4? Task 3 1) What were Kevin and Mike building? 2) When was she lying in the sun? 3) Where were the kids playing? 4) Whose daughter was waiting for the train? 5) Which rabbit were they chasing? 6) Why was Anne reading a book? 7) Who was asking the doctor last Monday? 8) What colour / What kind of scarf was Mary wearing? 9) How many students was Ms Logan teaching yesterday afternoon? 10) How was he driving? Task 4 1) When were Grace and Andy playing cards? 2) Whose bike were you riding? 3) How much juice were the children drinking? 4) Where were the girls drawing? 5) Who was the teacher counting? 6) How were the boys running? 7) What was falling from the tree? 8) What was dad doing in the bathroom? 9) What were the students revising for? 10) What was mum was watering? Task 5 1) Who was sleeping? My sister was sleeping. 2) Where were we sitting? We were sitting in the park. 3) What was pouring from the ceiling? Water was pouring from the ceiling. 4) What were you doing? I was skipping the rope. 5) Whose mum was cooking lunch? Peter s mum was cooking lunch. 6) How many newspapers was he reading? He was reading two newspapers. 7) To whom was Jason writing an e-mail? Jason was writing an e-mail to Sarah. 8) How were the children going to school? The children were going to school by car. 9) When were they watching TV? They were watching TV all day yesterday. 10) What was Christine hovering? Christine was hovering the carpet.