Test Your Grammar Skills About Past Continuous Tense!

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Elizabeth Paskert, MEd (Curriculum and Teaching) |
K-5 English Expert
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Elizabeth Paskert, an experienced educator with a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education and Teaching from Bowling Green State University, brings 10 years of teaching experience in upper elementary with a focus on Reading and Writing instruction. With strong interpersonal and computer skills, her enthusiasm and dedication to the field drive her to continue expanding her knowledge and expertise to excel in her career.
, MEd (Curriculum and Teaching)
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1. Were _________. 

Explanation

The correct answer is "they doing their homework?" because the question is asking about the action of a group of people (they) and what they were doing (their homework). The other options are not grammatically correct or do not make sense in the given context.

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About This Quiz
Test Your Grammar Skills About Past Continuous Tense! - Quiz

Are you good at English grammar tenses? Today, with this quiz, you'll get the chance to test your grammar skills about past continuous tenses. Tenses are formed by... see moreusing certain forms of verbs, particularly in their conjugation patterns which include past, present, and future. Try out this simple and well-researched MCQ format-based quiz on past continuous tense and see how easily you complete the sentences. Wishing you good luck on it!
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2. When I came home _______. 

Explanation

The correct answer is "the baby was crying" because the use of the past continuous tense ("was crying") indicates an ongoing action in the past. This suggests that when the person came home, the baby was already in the process of crying.

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3. Was ________. 

Explanation

The correct answer is "Was Mary doing her homework when I called?" This question is asking about Mary's activity of doing her homework at the time when the speaker called her. The question is formed using the past continuous tense to inquire about an ongoing action in the past.

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4. They __________. 

Explanation

The past continuous tense is formed with "was/were" + the present participle (verb ending in -ing). Option b) correctly uses this structure to describe an action in progress in the past ("weren't working") when another event occurred ("the fire broke out"). The other options have incorrect verb forms or don't make sense in the context of the past continuous tense.

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5. She ___________. 

Explanation

The sentence is discussing a female subject who was not old enough to drive. The use of "wasn't" is appropriate for a singular subject (she), and "old enough to drive" implies that the person in question did not meet the minimum age requirement for operating a vehicle. The other options have issues with subject-verb agreement or do not match the context provided in the sentence

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6. She was walking down the street when she __________. 

Explanation

The correct answer is "tripped". This is the past tense form of the verb "trip", which means to stumble or fall. In this sentence, it suggests that while she was walking down the street, she stumbled or fell.

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7. The audience was applauding until he __________. 

Explanation

The correct answer is "fell off the stage." This answer is correct because it accurately uses the past tense form of the verb "fall" to describe the action of someone dropping or descending from the stage. The other options, "fall off the stage," "flew off the stage," and "none of the above," do not accurately convey the action that caused the audience to stop applauding.

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8. The old lady was watching TV while the cat _______. 

Explanation

The correct answer is "was sleeping on her lap" because it is in the past continuous tense and matches the ongoing action of the old lady watching TV. This suggests that the cat was sleeping on her lap at the same time.

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9. Luis was playing on the computer when _________. 

Explanation

The past simple tense is commonly used to express actions or events that occurred at a specific point in the past and are now finished. In this case, the use of "heard" indicates that Luis perceived the sound of the explosion during his time playing on the computer. 

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10. The moment I got off the train _________. 

Explanation

The correct answer is "it started to snow" because the phrase "got off the train" indicates a specific moment in the past. The use of "started" indicates the beginning of an action, and "to snow" indicates the action of snowfall. Therefore, the correct phrase would be "it started to snow" to convey that the snowfall began at the moment the person got off the train.

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Elizabeth Paskert |MEd (Curriculum and Teaching) |
K-5 English Expert
Elizabeth Paskert, an experienced educator with a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education and Teaching from Bowling Green State University, brings 10 years of teaching experience in upper elementary with a focus on Reading and Writing instruction. With strong interpersonal and computer skills, her enthusiasm and dedication to the field drive her to continue expanding her knowledge and expertise to excel in her career.

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Were _________. 
When I came home _______. 
Was ________. 
They __________. 
She ___________. 
She was walking down the street when she __________. 
The audience was applauding until he __________. 
The old lady was watching TV while the cat _______. 
Luis was playing on the computer when _________. 
The moment I got off the train _________. 
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