Past Continuous: wh-questions

490 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 49 tests of ten

Question word, then was or were, then the subject, then the -ing form.

What question word

were was / were

they subject

doing? verb + ing

Practice this form

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Getting your first question ready.

The usual order

Four slots: question word — was or were — subject — the -ing form.

Where were you staying?

The classic question

What were you doing at the time? is the standard way to ask what someone was in the middle of — and, in a different setting, the standard question in an investigation.

The answer is Continuous; the event that interrupted it is Simple:

I was walking the dog when I heard the alarm.

When who is the subject

No swap, because there is nothing to swap with:

Who was making that noise?
What was happening outside?

These take was even when the answer turns out to be plural.

How long with a finished period

How long were you waiting? asks about a stretch that is over. If the waiting is still going on, the question moves to the Present Perfect Continuous: How long have you been waiting?

All forms

Question word	Example	Asking about
What	What were you doing?	the activity
Where	Where was she going?	the destination
Why	Why were they shouting?	the reason
How long	How long were you waiting?	the duration
Who	Who was driving?	the person — see below

Examples

Taken from the 490 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.

What were you doing in the park when it started raining?
Who was she working with in the garden yesterday morning?
Who were they playing with in the park when it started raining?
How were you feeling when they told you the surprise?
Where was he waiting when they arrived at the airport?
How long was he driving before she realized her mistake?
Where were they going at that time?
How were you walking when you got caught in the rain?
Who were they dancing with after the party last night?
Where were you waiting when they came to pick you up?
How was he feeling when you got the surprise?
Where were they sitting during the lecture?

Mistakes to avoid

Wrong: What you were doing? correct: What were you doing?

The auxiliary goes before the subject.

Wrong: Who was he driving the car? correct: Who was driving the car?

When who is the driver, there is no second subject.

Other forms of Past Continuous

Positive Statements in Past Continuous Tense 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Negative Statements in Past Continuous Tense 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Questions in Past Continuous Tense 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten WH-Questions in Past Continuous Tense 490 sentences, 49 tests of ten

Mixed practice → Done with this form? Try it among all the others — ten, twenty or thirty sentences from every form at once.