Question

Use your own ideas to complete these sentences. Use the past continuous. 1. Tom burnt his hand while he ---- the dinner. 2. The doorbell rang while I --- 3. We saw an accident while we --- 4. Mary fell asleep while she ---5. The television was on but nobody ---

Answer 1

1 was cooking
2 I was reading a book
3 were crossing the road
4 was watching TV
5 was watching it

Answer 2

1. Tom burnt his hand while he was cooking the dinner.

The past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past. In this sentence, Tom burnt his hand while he was in the process of cooking the dinner. The action of cooking was happening at the same time as the accident occurred.

2. The doorbell rang while I was taking a shower.

Here, the past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past. The doorbell rang while the speaker was in the middle of taking a shower. The action of taking a shower was happening when the doorbell rang.

3. We saw an accident while we were driving.

In this sentence, the past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past. The speaker and others were driving when they witnessed an accident. The action of driving was happening when they saw the accident.

4. Mary fell asleep while she was reading.

Here, the past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past. Mary fell asleep while she was in the process of reading. The action of reading was happening when she fell asleep.

5. The television was on but nobody was watching.

In this sentence, the past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past. The television was on, but nobody was actively watching it. The action of watching was not happening at that moment, even though the television was on.

Using the past continuous tense helps to convey the idea that these actions were in progress at a specific point in the past.