Past Continuous Tense Class 5 English Grammar has been prepared for learning English Grammar of Class 5 under CBSE, ICSE, and Other State boards as Lesson No 17. Class 5 students in their English Grammar learning process will get help from the Past Continuous Tense Class 5 English Grammar to achieve better speaking and writing skills in English.
This Lesson 17, Past Continuous Tense Class 5 English Grammar contains – What Past Continuous Tense is? and Past Continuous Tense Formula, Uses, with a practice worksheet at the end for better knowledge for class 5.
English Grammar eBook Class 5
Example & Definition: Past Continuous Tense Class 5 English Grammar
- I was playing football.
- It was raining cats and dogs.
- She was watching television.
- I was reciting a poem.
- They were not quarrelling anymore.
- What were you doing at lunchtime yesterday?
All the above action words tell us about actions that were going on for some time in the past.
When the verbs of the sentences describe actions that continued for a certain period at a particular time in the past, it is in the Past continuous Tense.
Formula: Past Continuous Tense Class 5 English Grammar
The Formula of Past Continuous Tense with Positive, Negative, Interrogative, and Negative–interrogative sentences and the Past Continuous Tense chart using different persons and numbers have been shown in the following.
Past Continuous Tense(Positive)
Formula – 1
| Subject + was/were + Verb + ing + Object. |
Chart – 1
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | I was playing football. | We were playing football. |
| 2nd | You were playing football. | You were playing football. |
| 3rd | He / She / It was playing football. | They were playing football. |
Past Continuous Tense(Negative)
Formula – 2
| Subject + was/were + not + Verb + ing + Object. |
Chart – 2
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | I was not playing football. | We were not playing football. |
| 2nd | You were not playing football. | You were not playing football. |
| 3rd | He / She / It was not playing football. | They were not playing football. |
Past continuous (Interrogative)
Formula – 3
| Was/Were + Subject + Verb + ing + Object? |
Chart – 3
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | Was I playing football? | Were we playing football? |
| 2nd | Were you playing football? | Were You playing football? |
| 3rd | Was he/she/it playing football? | Were they playing football? |
Wh-Word Question
Formula – 4
| Wh-Word + was/were + Subject + not + Verb + ing + Object? |
Example:
- Where were you going?
- Why was the baby crying?
- How was she drawing?
- What were they planning?
Questions for information are made with the ‘Wh-word’. who, which, what, why, whose, whom, how are called ‘Wh-word’.
Past Continuous (Negative-Interrogative)
Formula – 5
| Was/Were + Subject + not + Verb + ing + Object? |
Chart – 4
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | Was I not playing football? | Were we not playing football? |
| 2nd | Were you not playing football? | Were you not playing football? |
| 3rd | Was he/she/it not playing football? | Were they not playing football? |
In the Negative-Interrogative sentence ‘not’ is placed before the subject noun and after the subject pronoun.
Example:
- Was not Ravi playing football? (Before subject noun)
- Was he not playing football? (After subject pronoun)
Uses: Past Continuous Tense Class 5 English Grammar
Past continuous tense is used
1. to express an action that was happening at a particular time in the past. The action started before that moment and had not finished at that moment.
Example:
- At 4:00 pm, I was playing football.
- She was reading History at 9:00 am, this morning
2. to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted by a shorter action.
Example:
- I was watching television when the power was off.
- She was playing when her mother called her.
3. We often use the past simple and past continuous together, to talk about something that happened while another action was in progress,
We use the past continuous for the action that was in progress,
We use the past simple for the shorter action.
For example,
- They were running away when they saw the tiger.
- When I got up this morning, it was raining.
4. We often use when before the shorter action.
Example:
- They were going home when we saw them.
- When we saw them, they were going home?
Exercises
Exercise – 1
A. Fill in the blanks with the past continuous tense form of the verbs given in the brackets.
1. He _____ (have) dinner when he got the news.
2. What _____ (be) you (wear) at the party?
3. The guards _____ (chase) the thief.
4. I _____ (try) to fix my computer.
5. My friend and I _____ (play) basketball.
6. She _____ (sleep) when the thieves entered the house.
7. I _____ (listen) to some music.
8. He _____ (snore) through the night.
9. _____ (be) the prime minister _____ (wave) to the crowd?
10. _____ (be) you _____ (try) to get admission into one of these colleges?
Exercise – 2
B. Use the words to write questions in the past continuous. Then, try to answer the questions.
1. what/you/do/at/lunchtime/yesterday?
Ans: What were you doing at lunchtime yesterday?
I was reading a book at lunchtime yesterday.
2. your family/have/dinner/at/eight o’clock/last night?
3. you/do/your homework/at/half past six/on Sunday?
4. what/you/watch/on/TV/last/night?
5. it/rain/at/nine o’ clock/this/morning?
Exercise – 3
C. Change each of these sentences into negative and interrogative sentences.
1. They were going to college.
2. She was decorating her room.
3. She was washing the car.
4. They were eating their food.
5. The children were doing their homework.
6. He was writing a letter.
7. It was raining.
8. The children were splashing about in the puddles.
Exercise – 4
D. Fill in the blanks with the past continuous tense form and the past tense form of the verbs given in the brackets, as required.
1. Ronit. _____ (play) the guitar when the electricity _____ (go) off.
2. Jack. _____ (study) when I _____ (return) home.
3. I _____ (write) a letter when my mother _____ (call) me
4. I _____ (watch) television when they _____ (arrive).
5. Sahil _____ (finish) his homework when he _____ (get) a call.
6. The traffic _____ (move) very slowly because the roads _____ (be) waterlogged.
7. The children _____ (do) their homework when I ______ (come) back home.
8.1 _____ (listen) to music when the cat _____ (spill) the milk.
Exercise – 5
E. Underline the correct answer.
1. I was doing my homework when/while my father came home.
2. When/While we were watching TV, the lights went out.
s. When/While you were sleeping. Deepa phoned.
4. Binita was walking home from school when/while she found a ten-rupee note on the street.
5. I was writing an email to a friend when/while my parents came back.
6. When/While I was talking to Sarah, Vipin walked into the room.
Exercise – 6
F. Put the verbs in brackets into Past Continuous Tense:
(a) In my childhood I _____ (learn) to sing.
(b) It _____ (get) dark.
(c) My mother _____ (cook) meat.
(d) He _____ (cut) the tree.
(e) The nurse _____ (carry) the patient.
Class 5 English Grammar: All Topics & Chapters????:
Chapter 1. Parts of speech
Chapter 2. The sentence and Types
Chapter 3. Subject and Predicate
Chapter 4. Nouns and their Types
Chapter 5. Noun and Number
Chapter 6. Noun and Gender
Chapter 7. Articles
Chapter 8. Pronouns and their Classifications
Chapter 9. Verbs and Types of Verbs
Chapter 10. Regular Verbs Irregular Verbs List
Chapter 11. Subject and Verb Agreement
Chapter 12. Simple Present Tense
Chapter 13. Present Continuous Tense
Chapter 14. Present Perfect Tense
Chapter 15. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Chapter 16. Simple Past Tense
Chapter 17. Past Continuous Tense
Chapter 18. Past Perfect Tense
Chapter 19. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Chapter 20. Simple Future Tense
Chapter 21. Future Continuous Tense
Chapter 22. Future Perfect Tense
Chapter 23. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Chapter 24. Tense Exercises
Chapter 25. Modal Verbs
Chapter 26. Adjectives and their Types
Chapter 27. Degree of Adjectives
Chapter 28. Adverbs and Comparison
Chapter 29. Prepositions and their Uses
Chapter 30. Conjunctions
Chapter 31. Direct and Indirect Speech
Chapter 32. Transformation of Sentences
Chapter 33. Punctuation
