ESL Grammar: PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE (8) – Writing

In this ESL grammar lesson, students read a short, fun story using the past continuous tense. They can then practice writing their own story, using the past continuous tense.

ESL Grammar: Writing Assignment Details

Our writing assignment focuses on using the past continuous tense in various writing contexts. Students will:

1. Describe Past Events: Write a paragraph describing what you were doing at a specific time in the past, using the past continuous tense to detail ongoing actions.
2. Narrative Writing: Create a short story or scene that includes multiple ongoing actions occurring at the same time in the past. Use the past continuous tense to convey these simultaneous actions.
3. Event Descriptions: Write about an event that was happening when another action occurred. Use the past continuous tense to describe the ongoing action and the past simple tense for the interrupting event.

Examples

• Paragraph Description: At 8 PM last night, I was cooking dinner while my family was watching a movie. The phone was ringing continuously in the background.
• Narrative Writing: As the rain was pouring down, they were hiking up the trail. Suddenly, the wind was howling, making it difficult to hear each other.
• Event Description: I was finishing my homework when the power went out.

The English grammar lesson below gives students a sample story in the past continuous tense and challenges them to write their own story using this tense. Our series of ESL grammar lessons on subjects and verbs introduce these concepts and reinforce them through helpful and instructive exercises.

This lesson is available for free download, and you can download many more English grammar lessons focusing on advanced aspects of English grammar (past continuous tense, present perfect tense, present perfect continuous tense, passive voice, embedded questions, relative clauses) in our comprehensive, intermediate- to advanced-level ESL grammar textbook Great, Great Grammar! (Book 3: Tenses and More!).