PAST CONTINUOUS

1. Khái niệm thì quá khứ tiếp diễn (Past continuous)

Để trả lời cho câu hỏi quá khứ tiếp diễn là gì, ta có thể tham khảo định nghĩa
sau đây. Quá khứ tiếp diễn (Past continuous) thường được sử dụng để diễn tả,
nhấn mạnh quá trình của sự việc hoặc hành động. Nó còn thể hiện tính chất của
một sự việc kéo dài trong quá khứ và không còn tiếp diễn ở hiện tại.

Ví dụ:

 They were just talking about it before I arrived.

(Họ đang nói về chuyện đó ngay trước khi tôi tới)

 At 9 am yesterday, I was calling my mom.

(Vào lúc 9 giờ sáng ngày hôm qua, tôi đang gọi điện cho mẹ tôi)
 2. Câu bị động trong quá khứ tiếp diễn

2.1. Cấu trúc câu khẳng định:

Chủ động: S + was/were + Ving + O

Bị động: O + was/were + being + Ved/p2 (+by S)

Ví dụ:

 The television was being broken at eight last night.

(Cái ti vi bị làm vỡ vào lúc 8 giờ tối hôm qua)

 The book was being read at 6 am.

(Quyển sách đang được đọc vào lúc 6 giờ sáng)

 The light was being broken in the past.

(Cái bóng đèn đang bị làm vỡ vào trước đó rồi)

2.2. Cấu trúc câu phủ định

Chủ động: S + was/were + not + Ving + O

Bị động: O + was/were + not + being + Ved/p2 (+by O).

Ví dụ:

 Books were not being read by me at 7 o’clock yesterday morning.

(Những quyển sách không được đọc bởi tôi vào lúc 7 giờ sáng hôm qua)

 Trees were not watered at 6 am.

(Những cái cây đang không được tưới nước vào lúc 6 giờ sáng)

 The light was not being broken at 9 pm.

(Cái bóng đèn đang không bị vỡ vào lúc 9 giờ tối)

2.3. Cấu trúc câu nghi vấn

Chủ động: Was/Were + S + Ving + O?

Bị động: Was/Were + O + being + Ved/p2 (+by S)...?

Ví dụ:

 Was my house being decorated at 8 a.m yesterday?

(Căn nhà của tôi đang được sửa chữa lúc 8 giờ sáng hôm qua đúng không?)

 Were the books being read at 7 am?

(Những quyển sách đang được đọc lúc 7 giờ sáng đúng không?)

 Was my school being opened at 6 am yesterday?

(Trường học của tôi đang được mở cửa lúc 6 giờ sáng hôm qua đúng không?)

3. Quy tắc thêm ing vào động từ thì quá khứ tiếp diễn

Vì ở dạng “tiếp diễn” nên động từ được chia dưới dạng V-ing. Mời các bạn
cùng tìm hiểu ở bên dưới.

3.1. Quy tắc thêm “ing”

- Đuôi “e” thì ta bỏ “e” và thêm “ing”.

Ví dụ:. live -> living, have -> having,...

- Đuôi “ie” ta chuyển thành “y” và thêm “ing”.

Ví dụ: tie -> tying, lie -> lying,...

- Kết thúc bằng nguyên âm + phụ âm chỉ có một âm tiết, ta gấp đôi phụ âm
và thêm “ing”.

Ví dụ: win -> winning, cut -> cutting,...

3.2. Những động từ không thể chia dạng V-ing

Trong tiếng Anh nói chung có một số động từ chỉ có thể để dạng nguyên thể mà
không thể chia dạng V-ing. Đặc điểm của nhóm từ này là những từ dùng để chỉ:

- Chỉ giác quan: hear, see, taste,...

- Chỉ sở thích: hate, like, wish,...
- Chỉ tình trạng: seem, appear, sound,...
- Chỉ nhận thức: understand, believe, know,...
- Chỉ sở hữu: belong, contain, posses,...

BÀI TẬP QUÁ KHỨ TIẾP DIỄN

Bài 1. Chia động từ ở trong ngoặc ở thì quá khứ tiếp diễn để hoàn thành
câu

1. I lost my keys when I ________ (walk) home.

2. It was raining while we ________ (have) dinner.
3. I saw the department stores when I ________ (sit) on the bus.
4. Her phone rang while she ________ (talk) to her new boss.
5. My friends ________ (drive) to work when they heard the news on the
radio.
6. He ________ (ride) his bicycle when the cat ran across the road.
7. We couldn’t go to the beach yesterday because it ________. (rain)
8. It was a lovely day. The sun was shining and the birds ________ (sing)
in the trees.
9. The tourist lost his camera while he _____ (walk) around the city.
10.The lorry _____ (go) very fast when it hit our car.
11.I _______ (walk) down the street when it began to rain.
12.At this time last year, I _______ (attend) an English course.
13.Jim ________ (stand) under the tree when he heard an explosion.
14.While I _____ (study) in my room, my roommates ________ (have) a
party in the other room.
15.Mary and I _________ (dance) the house when the telephone rang.
16.She (walk) ___________ down the street when it began to rain.

17.At this time last month, Linh (attend) __________ an English course.

18.I (stand) ________ under the tree when I heard an explosion.

19.She fell and hurt herself while she (ride) _________ a bicycle.
20.When we met you last year, you (live)______ in Santiago.

21.The tourist lost her camera while she (walk) _____ around the city.

22.The lorry (go) _____ very fast when it hit our car.

23. While she (study) _____ in her room, her roommates (have) ________ a
party in the other room.

24. We (dance) _________ the house when the telephone rang.

25. They (sit) ________ in the café when I saw us.

26. She ________________ (call) Mr Lam at 8 last night, but he (not be)
_________________ at home. He (study) _______________ at the
library.

27. Linh _________________ (not hear) the thunder during the storm last
night because she ________________ (sleep)

28. It was beautiful last Monday when I went for a walk in the park. The sun
______________ (shine). The birds _____________ (sing)

29. They ________________ (talk) about something when I

________________ (walk) into the bedroom.

30. Linda went to her friends ‘house, but her friend ___________________
(not be) there. He (play) _____________ soccer in the vacant lot down
the street.

31.The boy _______________ (fall) asleep while his mom

___________________ (read) him a story.

32. She really enjoyed my holiday last year. While it _______________

(snow) in Malay, the sun ______________ (shine) in Florida.
 33. While Mya _______________ (shovel) snow from her driveway
yesterday, her boyfriend _________________ (bring) her a cup of hot
chocolate.

34. She _________________ (have) a car accident last month. She

__________________ (drive) down the street when suddenly a lorry
__________________ (hit) her car from behind.

35. 5 years ago, the government _______________ (decide) to begin a food

programme. At that time, many people in the rural areas
_______________ (starve) due to several years of drought.

Bài 2. Tìm lỗi sai trong các câu dưới đây và sửa lại cho đúng

1. James was seeing the accident when she was catching the bus.

2. What were you doing when I called?

3. I wasn't visiting him last summer holiday.

4. It was raining heavily last March.

5. While people were talking to each other, she read her book.

6. My brother was eating hamburgers every weekend last month.

7. While we ran in the park, Mary fell over.

8. Were you finding your keys yesterday?

9. Who was she dancing with at the party last night?

10. They watched football on TV at 10 p.m. yesterday.

Bài 3. Chọn đáp án đúng để hoàn thành câu

1. My mom and sister _____ playing A. was

badminton at 11 am yesterday.
B. does
A. are
C. were
B. was
6. Was she not _____ her
C. were homework?

2. _____ you still working at 9 pm A. doing

last night?
B. do
A. Were
C. done
B. Are
7. Snow _____ lightly. Suddenly a
C. Was reindeer appeared.

A. fell

3. At 8 am today I _____ driving to B. was falling

school.
C. is falling
A. was
8. Somebody threw a shoe at her
B. am _____ she was speaking.

C. were A. after

4. They _____ sleeping when the B. when

police came.
C. while
A. was
9. We ________ TV when she
B. weren't arrived.

C. won't A. were watching

B. were watched

5. Why _____ she having lunch at 4 C. watched

pm?
 10. He was reading a detective story B. while
_____ he heard a noise.
C. when
A. during

Bài 5. Chia động từ trong ngoặc để hoàn thành đoạn văn

On my last holiday, she went to Hawaii. When she (go)

1…………………………. to the beach for the first time, something wonderful
happened. she (swim) 2…………………………. in the sea while her mother was
sleeping in the sun. Her brother was building a castle and her father (drink)
3…………………………. some water. Suddenly I (see)
4…………………………. a boy on the beach. His eyes were blue like the water
in the sea and his hair (be) 5…………………………. beautiful black. He was
very tall and thin and his face was brown. Her heart (beat)
6…………………………. fast. Her (ask) 7…………………………. him for his
name with a shy voice. He (tell) 8…………………………. her that his name was
John. He (stay) 9…………………………. with her the whole afternoon. In the
evening, they met again. They ate pizza in a restaurant. The following days they
(have) 10…………………………. a lot of fun together. At the end of my
holidays when she left Hawaii she said good-bye to John. They had tears in our
eyes. He wrote to her a letter very soon and she answered him.

Bài 4. Viết thành câu hoàn chỉnh ở thì quá khứ tiếp diễn dựa trên từ gợi ý

1. (they / take the exam?)

=>________________________________________________________________

2. (when / he / work there?)

=>________________________________________________________________

3. (you / make dinner?)

=>________________________________________________________________

4. (they / drink coffee when you arrived?)

=>________________________________________________________________

5. (when / we / sleep?)
=>________________________________________________________________

6. (they / study last night)

=>________________________________________________________________

7. (we / talk when the accident happened)

=>________________________________________________________________

8. (he / not / exercise enough)

=>________________________________________________________________

9. (I / talk too much?)

=>________________________________________________________________

10. (it / not / snow)

=>________________________________________________________________

11. (how / they / feel?)

=>________________________________________________________________

12. (they / not / talk)

=>________________________________________________________________

13. (where / I / stay?)

=>________________________________________________________________

14. (why / he / study on a Saturday night?)

=>________________________________________________________________

15. (I / go to school when you saw me)

=>________________________________________________________________

16. (you / sleep at 6am)

=>________________________________________________________________
17. (she / work when I called)

=>________________________________________________________________

18. (we / not / leave when you called)

=>________________________________________________________________

19. (I / not / stay in a hotel)

=>________________________________________________________________

20. (we / make too much noise?)

=>________________________________________________________________

I. Phân biệt thì quá khứ đơn (Past Simple) và quá khứ tiếp diễn (Past
Continuous):
Thì quá khứ đơn Thì quá khứ tiếp diễn
- Diễn tả hành động đang diễn ra trong
quá khứ
- Diễn tả hành động đã xảy ra tại một - Diễn tả hai hành động hoặc nhiều hơn
thời điểm cố định trong quá khứ đang diễn ra tại thời điểm nới trong quá
- Diễn tả hành động đã xảy ra ngay khứ
sau hành động khác trong quá khứ - Diễn tả hành động đang diễn ra thì một
hành động khác xen vào. Hành động
làm gián đoạn chia thì quá khứ đơn.
Dấu hiệu: ago, yesterday, last month/ Dấu hiệu: while, when, all day/ night/
year/ week, in 2019, then,… morning, ….

II. Bài tập luyện tập

Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the past simple or the past
continuous form the verbs.
1. Peter ___________ (play) a video game when his brother, Jack,
___________ (enter) the room.
2. I ___________ (study) for my English test when my mother ___________
(come) home from work.
3. Emma ___________ (wash) the dishes when the telephone ___________
(ring).
4. I ___________ (ate) a sandwich while my parents ___________ (drink)
coffee.
5. I ___________ (watch) a DVD when my cat ___________ (jump) on me.
6. I ___________ (not hear) the thunder during the storm last night because I
___________ (sleep)
7. It (be) ___________ beautiful yesterday when we ___________ (go) for a
walk in the park. The sun ___________ (shine). The birds ___________ (sing).
8. My brother and sister ___________ (talk) anout something when I
___________ (walk) into the room.
9. Tom ___________(go) to his friend’s house, but the boys ___________ (not
be) there. They ___________ (play) soccer in the vacant lot down the street.
10. The little boy ___________ (fall) asleep while his mother ___________
(read) him a story.
11. I really ___________ (enjoy) my holiday last January. While it
___________ (snow) in Iowa, the sun ___________ (shine) in Floria.
12. It ___________ (snow) when I ___________ (leave) home this morning.
13. It was a sunny afternoon and people ___________ (sit) on the grass in the
park. Then suddenly it ___________ (start) to rain.
14. My brother ___________ (talk) on the phone when I arrived, but when he
___________ (see) me, he ___________ (finish) the call. Perhaps he thought
that I ___________ (listen) to his conversation.
15. We ___________ (climb) the wall when the gardener ___________ (see)
us.
16. Susan ___________ (play) the piano while Mary ___________ (sing)
17. ___________ (you/ listen) to the teacher when she ___________ (explain)
this exercise?
18. Linda ___________ (have) a beautiful dream when the alarm clock
___________ (ring).

Exercise 2: Choose the correct answer

1. The Smiths aren’t painting/ weren’t painting their house last weekend
2. Tom cleaned/ was cleaning the living room when Jane arrived
3. Did/ Were the students writing an essay in class this morning?
4. Frank was fixing/ fixed his car when his mobile rang
5. Mark didn’t wear/ wasn’t wearing a coat when it started to rain.
6. He is/ was driving to work this morning when Anna called.
7. While my parents were working/ was working, I was studying at home
8. I walked/ was walking home when I tripped/ was tripping and fell
9. At 8 o’clock last night, we were having/ had dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Exercise 3: Read the letter and write the missing words. Write one word on
each line
Dear Georgia,
I’m writing to you from my hotel room (1) ______ New York. You can’t
imagine what happened to me yesterday! I was walking in Mitte at around noon
(2) _______ it started raining. (3) ______ I was running back to the hotel, I saw
a famous actor who was eating in a restaurant. I went in and (4) ______ hello
and he gave me two tickets to see his new film. Isn’t that great?
That’s all for now. See you (5) ______ I get back!
Love,
Rachel

Exercise 4: Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the past
continuous
1. A: How (1) _______________ (Anne/ break) her leg?
B: She (2) ______________ (ride) her horse when she (3) _______________
(fall) and (4) __________ (land) on her leg.
A: (5) ________________ (she/go) to hospital?
2. A: When (1) ___________ (you/see) Peter?
B: While I (2) ___________ (do) my shopping at the supermarket
3. A: I (1) __________ (call) you last night but you (2) _____________ (not/
answer). Where were you?
B: I (3) __________________ (jog) in the park

Exercise 5: Give the correct forms of the verbs given in the brackets
1. Susan ___________ (study) in her room when she heard the noise.
2. What ____________ (they, do) at eleven p.m. last night - it was so noisy?
3. I was eight years old when my elder sister __________ (teach) me how to
ride a bike.
4. John ______________ (not go) to school last week because he was ill.
5. I didn't know anything about the plane crash in my neighborhood because I
________ (work) inside at that time.
6. Yesterday at 9.30 p.m my parents ______________ (sit) in the garden
______________ (drink) some Coke.
7. The chambermaid ______________ (make) my bed in the hotel and
______________ (clean) the bathroom.
8. Someone ______________ (knock) on the door while I ______________
(read) the newspaper.
9. My brother ______________ (buy) a lot of books when he ______________
(live) in Cambridge.
10. William ______________ (not meet) Sally at the airport last Sunday.
11. Jerry ______________ (have) dinner when the lights ______________ (go)
out.
12. The girl ______________ (feel) ill so she ______________ (not go) to
work.
13. I ______________ (make) a pudding when the light ______________ (go)
out.
14. We suddenly ______________ (realize) that we ______________ (travel) in
the wrong direction.
15. While I ______________ (swim) someone ______________ (steal) my
clothes and I ______________ (have to) walk to the hotel in my swimsuit.
16. The floor ______________ (be) covered with balls of wool. Obviously
Grandmother ______________ (knit) something.
17. I ______________ (find) this coin as I ______________ (dig) in the garden.
It looks very old.
18. When I first ______________ (meet) him, he ______________ (work) in a
cafe.
19. When I ______________ (read) a book, I ______________ (hear) a knock,
I ______________ (go) to the door and ______________ (open) it, but I
______________ (not recognize) my friend at first because I ______________
(not wear) my glasses.
20. When I ______________ (come) in they ______________ (sit) round the
fire.

Exercise 6: Supply the correct tenses of the verbs in brackets

One afternoon, a big wolf (wait) ____________ in a dark forest for a little girl
to come along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. Finally a little girl
did come along and she (carry) ____________ a basket of food. 'Are you
carrying that basket to your grandmother?' asked the wolf. The little girl said
yes, she (be)____________. So the wolf (ask) ____________her where her
grandmother lived and the little girl (tell)____________ him and he
(disappear)____________ into the wood.
When the little girl (open) ____________ the door of her grandmother's house,
she (see)____________ that there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and
nightgown on. She (approach)____________ no nearer than twenty-five feet
from the bed when she (see)____________ that it was not her grandmother but
the wolf, for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look like anybody's
grandmother. So the little girl (take) ____________ an automatic pistol out of
her basket and (shoot) ____________the wolf dead.
Exercise 7: Complete this email with either the past simple or the past
continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Where alternatives are possible,
think about any difference in meaning.
I (1. buy) ____________ a new alarm clock the other day in Taylor’s the
jewellers, when I actually (2. see) ____________ somebody shoplifting. I’d
finished paying for my clock and as I (3. turn) ____________ round, an elderly
woman (4. slowly put) ____________ a silver plate into a bag that she (5. carry)
____________. Then she (6. walk) ____________ over to another part of the
shop and (7. pick up) ____________ an expensive-looking watch a number of
times. When she (8. think) ____________ that nobody (9. look) ____________,
she (10. drop) ____________ it into the bag. Before I (11. have) ____________
a chance to tell the staff in the shop, she (12. notice) ____________ that I (13.
watch) ____________ her and (14. hurry)____________ out. Unfortunately for
her, two police officers (15. walk) ____________ past just at that moment and
she (16. run) ____________ straight into them.

Exerccise 8: Complete the sentences using these pairs of verbs. Use the past
simple in one gap and the past continuous in the other.
come - show get - go hope - give live - spend
look - see play - break start - check in
1. Just as I was getting into the bath all the lights went off.
2. I……………………..to go away this weekend, but my
boss…………………..me some work that I have to finish by Monday.
3. When I………………………..in Paris, I……………………three hours a day
travelling to and from work.
4. A friendly American couple…………………..chatting to him as
he…………………at the hotel reception.
5. I bumped into Lena last week. She……………………….a lot better than
when I last…………………..her.
6. My boss…………………………..into the office just as
I…………………………everyone my holiday photos.
7. I…………….badminton four times a week before I……………………..my
ankle.

Exercise 9: Choose the correct alternative “When/ While”

1. I had a bad dream _____________ I was sleeping on the sofa
2. I was talking to my husband in the park _____________ two cars crashed
behind us.
3. You called me last night _____________ I was studying for an important
exam.
4. The students were doing an exercise _____________ the bell rang.
5. Anna was doing her homework _____________ the lights went out.

Exericise 10: Circle the correct verb form in each of the following sentences
1. Mary (prepared/ was preparing) lunch when they (came/ was coming)
2. The sun (shone/ was shining) brightly when I (got up/ was getting up) this
morning.
3. Ann finally (told/ was telling) us the whole story about Peter
4. We (drove/ were driving) to Berlin in Robert’s new car
5. Last weekend Susan (fell/ was falling) and (broke/ was breaking) her leg
6. Who was that nice girl you (talked/ were talking) to when I (walked/ was
walking) by the pub?
7. When I (entered / was entering) the cafeteria Mary (had / was having) lunch
with Peter.

Exercise 11: Complete the gaps in Past Simple or Past Continuous

1. We ______________ to the cinema yesterday. (to go)
2. I ______________ my homework for the whole evening yesterday. (to do)
3. Emily ______________ the piano at 4 p.m yesterday. (to play)
4. When John came home, his little brother ______________ TV. (to watch)
5. They ______________ a new house last month. (to buy)
6. We ______________ our relatives in the USA two years ago. (to visit)
7. As Sophie ______________ (walk) up Regent Street, she ______________
(meet) an old friend from college.
8. Who ______________ (you/ speak) to on the phone when I ______________
(come) in?
9. Mary ______________ (read) in bed when she ______________ (hear) a
strange noise downstairs.
10. The fireman ______________ (rescue) a 75-year-old woman who
______________ (be) trapped on the second floor of the burning building.
11. When I ______________ (open) the door, two people ______________
(stand) there.
12. Your package ______________ (arrive) while we ______________ (have)
dinner.
13. Gran ______________ (do) really well when I ______________ (see) her
yesterday.
14. The teacher ______________ (ask) me a question while I ______________
(look) out of the window
15. We ______________ (not drive) very fast when the police officer
______________ (stop) us.
16. While I ______________ (drive), I ______________ (have) an accident.
17. Kate ______________ (have) dinner and then she ______________ (do) her
homework.
18. The thieves ______________ (hide) in the kitchen when the police
______________ (come) in.
19. Sam ______________ (plan) a party and then he ______________ (phone)
his friends.
20. While we ______________ (clean) the house, we ______________ (break)
some glasses.
21. Alan ______________ (look) out of the window when he ______________
(see) a UFO.

Exercise 12: Give the correct form of verbs in bracket

1. I ( not permit) _____________ to go out after 10 pm
2. The black dress ( make) _____________ me look older than my mother.
3. This little girl (expect) _____________ by her parents to win the competition.
4. My manager ( not let) _____________me use the computer in the office for
personal purposes.
5. Your hydro bill (pay) ______ paid_______ by Mr. Smith yesterday.
6. This building (design) _____________ by a well-known architect in 2001.
7. Last year, it (rumour) _____________ that people would build a new bridge
here.
8. The teacher (order) _____________ me to finish my report before yesterday.
9. His shoes (often shine) _____shone________ by his wife.
10. Our way (light) _____________ by a full moon.