Past Continuous Mixed Practice (Easy) Exercises

This exercise brings together the three core forms of the past continuous: positive ("I was reading"), negative ("She wasn't listening"), and questions ("Were they waiting?"). Mastering all three forms is essential because real English constantly switches between them. A conversation might include: "What were you doing?" — "I was watching a film." — "Weren't you supposed to be studying?" Each form follows the same structure with was/were, but the word order and use of "not" change.

The key to getting these right is remembering three patterns: for positive sentences, the order is subject + was/were + verb-ing; for negatives, add not after was/were; for questions, move was/were before the subject. A common mistake is forgetting to change the word order for questions — "You were sleeping?" is informal spoken English, but "Were you sleeping?" is the correct question form for exams. Another frequent error is using "did" in questions: "Did you were sleeping?" is always wrong. Practise switching between all three forms quickly, as this skill is tested at A2-B1 level across all major English examinations.