Grammar

Level B2

Part 1 - Past Continuous

Exercises Feed

For questions 1-10, choose the correct answer.

1

Past Continuous

At 9 p.m. last night, I .......... (to try) to finish the report before the deadline.

was tried

tried

was trying

have tried

2

Past Continuous

While we .......... (to discuss) the budget, the internet suddenly .......... (to stop) working.

were discussing / was stopping

were discussing / stopped

discussed / was stopping

discussed / stopped

3

Past Continuous

.......... you .......... (to listen) when the teacher explained the rule?

Were / listening

Have / listened

Did / listen

Was / listening

4

Past Continuous

When I called, Maya .......... (to drive), so she didn’t answer immediately.

had driven

drives

was driving

drove

5

Past Continuous

The whole office .......... (to talk) about the merger that morning.

talked

was talking

were talking

has been talking

6

Past Continuous

I .......... (not / to pay) attention, so I missed the last part of the announcement.

weren't paying

not paid

didn't pay

wasn't paying

7

Past Continuous

They .......... (to cycle) along the river when it .......... (to start) to rain heavily.

were cycling / started

cycled / started

were cycling / was starting

cycled / was starting

8

Past Continuous

Choose the sentence with the correct word order.

Were you doing what when I arrived?

What you were doing when I arrived?

What did you were doing when I arrived?

What were you doing when I arrived?

9

Past Continuous

At the conference, some people .......... (to take) notes while others .......... (to record) the session.

were taking / recorded

were taking / were recording

took / recorded

took / were recording

10

Past Continuous

She .......... (to own) a flat in Madrid at the time, so she didn’t need to rent one.

owned

had been owning

was owning

was owned

What to do

This part consists of a number of assessments, each of which has only one valid answer.

Select the best answer according to what you read.

There's only one valid answer

There's only a correct answer which you will have to select by clicking on it.

Don't spend unnecessary time

Don't spend time in an assessment you don't know. Wasting time on this activity might cost you points later in the exam because you won’t have enough time to do other tasks well. Get used to being quick!

Grammar is a must

Although these grammar tests are not part of the official Cambridge exams, they are still important as they touch on language elements that you'll come across in all parts of the official exams, such as Reading and Use of English.

Strategy

Read the assessment so you understand what it is about.
Pay attention to the topic on the top-right corner of each assessment.
Check the words before and after each gap and look for grammatical collocations.
Remember that you select a choice by clicking on it.

Instructions

For questions 1-10, choose the correct answer.

Exercise Details

Author

Olia Denys

@olia-denys

User Prompt

"Create a grammar exercise focusing on 'Past Continuous'"

Tone: Standard

Level: B2

Created on:

Jul 13, 2026

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