Past Continuous

Respuesta correcta: A) They were waiting for the bus.

• A) They were waiting for the bus.'Were waiting' joins 'were' with the -ing form 'waiting', which is the past continuous.
• B) They waited for the bus.'Waited' with no auxiliary is the past simple, which reports a completed action.
• C) They are waiting for the bus.'Are waiting' is the present continuous, describing a situation happening now.
• D) They will wait for the bus.'Will wait' is the future simple and points forward in time.

Respuesta correcta: B) was walking

• A) walk'Walk' with no auxiliary is the past simple and gives no sense of an ongoing action.
• B) was walking'Was walking' places the walk in progress before the moment of seeing the accident.
• C) was walked'Was walked' is the past passive and would make the speaker the thing being walked.
• D) am walking'Am walking' is the present continuous and cannot describe a past morning.

Respuesta correcta: C) at nine last night

• A) every Sunday'Every Sunday' describes a repeated habit, which belongs to the present simple.
• B) right now'Right now' belongs to the present continuous, not to a past tense.
• C) at nine last night'At nine last night' is a specific past moment, which is exactly when an action can be in progress.
• D) next month'Next month' points to the future and needs a future tense.

Respuesta correcta: D) was

• A) were'Were' goes with plural subjects and with 'you', not with a singular brother.
• B) is'Is' is the present auxiliary and would describe an action happening now.
• C) did'Did' opens a past simple question and requires the base verb 'do'.
• D) was'Was' agrees with 'your brother' and gives the past continuous question 'What was he doing'.

Respuesta correcta: D) was not sleeping

• A) not was sleepingEnglish puts the auxiliary before 'not', so 'not was' reverses the order.
• B) did not sleep'Did not sleep' is the negative past simple, not the negative past continuous.
• C) was not sleepAfter 'was not' the verb must take its -ing form, so the bare 'sleep' is wrong.
• D) was not sleeping'Was not sleeping' places the negation in the correct position in the past continuous.

Respuesta correcta: C) were doing

• A) was doing'Was' does not agree with the plural subject 'we' in the past.
• B) are doing'Are doing' is the present continuous and cannot sit before 'went out'.
• C) were doing'Were' agrees with 'we' and 'doing' is the -ing form of 'do'.
• D) were do'Were' must be followed by the -ing form, so the bare 'do' is wrong.

Respuesta correcta: B) wasn't

• A) wasnt'Wasnt' without an apostrophe loses the missing letter and is misspelled.
• B) wasn't'Was not' shortens to "wasn't", with the apostrophe standing in for the missing 'o'.
• C) weren't"Weren't" contracts 'were not', which does not agree with the singular 'it'.
• D) didn't"Didn't" contracts 'did not' and belongs to the past simple.

Respuesta correcta: A) running

• A) running'Run' doubles its final 'n' before -ing, giving 'running' after 'was'.
• B) runingA short vowel plus a final consonant doubles that consonant before -ing in English.
• C) runnningOnly one 'n' is added, so 'runnning' with three n's is a misspelling.
• D) ran'Ran' is the past simple of 'run' and cannot take an -ing ending.

Respuesta correcta: B) She was cooking when the guests arrived.

• A) She cook when the guests arrived.'Cook' has no auxiliary, so the clause is not a past continuous at all.
• B) She was cooking when the guests arrived.'Was cooking' is 'was' plus the -ing form and introduces the interrupting past action.
• C) She was cooked when the guests arrived.'Was cooked' is the past passive, not the past continuous.
• D) She is cooking when the guests arrived.'Is cooking' is present tense and cannot describe an action before 'arrived'.

Respuesta correcta: D) It shows that one action was in progress during another.

• A) It states a reason for the alarm ringing.A reason is expressed with 'because', so 'while' does not carry that meaning.
• B) It marks a contrast between two unrelated ideas.'While' links simultaneous actions; a contrast uses 'although' or 'but'.
• C) It expresses a condition that must be met.A condition uses 'if' or 'unless', not 'while' in this usage.
• D) It shows that one action was in progress during another.'While' introduces the ongoing action against which the other event happened.

Respuesta correcta: C) visited

• A) were visitingThe past continuous describes an action in progress in the past; the trip described here is over.
• B) are visiting'Are visiting' is the present continuous and describes what is happening now, not last Sunday.
• C) visited'Last Sunday' names a completed moment, so the past simple 'visited' is the right form.
• D) have visitedThe present perfect links a past action to the present, and 'last Sunday' normally rules it out.

Respuesta correcta: A) while

• A) while'While' links two actions in progress at the same past moment, which is the core use of the past continuous.
• B) every morning'Every morning' describes a habit, and habits belong to the present simple.
• C) tomorrow'Tomorrow' points to the future, so it can never introduce a past continuous.
• D) now'Now' belongs to the present continuous; the past continuous needs a past reference point.

Respuesta correcta: D) were

• A) was'Was' goes with singular subjects such as 'he' or 'she'; 'you' always takes 'were' in the past.
• B) are'Are' is the present form of 'be' and would place the question in the present continuous.
• C) did'Did' belongs to the past simple, which takes the base verb rather than the -ing form.
• D) were'You' takes 'were' in the past, so the question reads 'What were you doing'.

Respuesta correcta: B) was cooking

• A) cook'Cook' has no auxiliary, so the clause would be the past simple and 'while' would not fit it.
• B) was cooking'While' introduces an action in progress in the past, so 'was cooking' completes the sentence.
• C) was cooked'Was cooked' is the past passive; the subject 'I' performs the action, so the voice is wrong.
• D) am cooking'Am cooking' is the present continuous and cannot describe an evening that has already passed.

Respuesta correcta: A) were writing

• A) were writing'They' takes 'were', and 'write' drops its silent e before -ing to give 'writing'.
• B) was writing'Was' agrees with a singular subject; with 'they' the past auxiliary must be 'were'.
• C) were writting'Write' keeps no consonant to double, so 'writting' with three t's is a misspelling.
• D) are writing'Are writing' is the present continuous, which cannot sit before 'when the bell rang'.

Respuesta correcta: C) Were

• A) Was'Was' agrees with singular subjects; 'you' takes 'were' in the past continuous.
• B) Did'Did' would require the base verb 'sleep', not the -ing form used in the past continuous.
• C) WereThe question word is followed by the past auxiliary 'were', giving 'Were you sleeping'.
• D) Are'Are' is present tense, so the question would describe a situation happening now.

Respuesta correcta: B) was not watching

• A) not was watchingThe auxiliary always comes first in English negation, so 'not was' reverses the correct order.
• B) was not watchingThe past continuous negative places 'not' after 'was' and before the -ing form.
• C) did not watching'Did' builds the negative of the past simple, which never uses the -ing form of the verb.
• D) was not watchThe bare verb 'watch' cannot follow 'was'; the present of 'be' requires the -ing form.

Respuesta correcta: A) were...doing

• A) were...doing'Were' provides the past auxiliary and 'doing' the -ing form, completing the past continuous question.
• B) was...do'Was' does not agree with 'you', and the bare verb 'do' cannot follow an auxiliary in this tense.
• C) did...doing'Did' is followed by the base form of the verb in the past simple, never by the -ing form.
• D) are...doing'Are' is the present auxiliary, which would put the question in the present continuous.

Respuesta correcta: C) She was painting the wall when the visitors arrived.

• A) She painted the wall when the visitors arrived.'Painted' is the past simple, so it reports the finished action rather than the action in progress.
• B) She is painting the wall when the visitors arrived.'Is painting' is present tense and cannot describe an action happening before 'arrived'.
• C) She was painting the wall when the visitors arrived.'Was painting' is 'was' plus the -ing form and sets up the interrupting action 'arrived'.
• D) She paints the wall when the visitors arrive.'Paints' and 'arrive' are both present simple, describing a habit instead of a past situation.

Respuesta correcta: D) were playing

• A) was playing'Was' goes with a singular subject, so it does not agree with the plural 'the children'.
• B) are playing'Are playing' is the present continuous, which describes an action happening now.
• C) played'Played' is the past simple and gives the finished action rather than the ongoing one.
• D) were playing'Were' agrees with 'the children' and 'playing' is the -ing form of 'play'.