Practice Makes Perfect

33 
The Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense
33-1 
1. The laboratory was testing the blood for AIDS and other diseases. 2. We were walking in the snow with 
our snowshoes. 3. The mechanic was lowering the car when it fell. 4. The girls were talking on the
phone for two hours. 5. I was changing the lightbulb when I got a shock. 6. The kids were rolling down 
the mountain. 7. She was placing a wig on her head when I entered. 8. George was listening to music 
with his headphones. 9. Vance was covering his answers during the test. 10. We were buying a gift for 
the christening. 11. I was dropping a quarter in the tollbooth when he rammed the back of my car.
12. My daughter was blowing her nose. 13. The lights were glowing in the distance. 14. They were 
struggling to keep the files up-to-date. 15. We were dividing our time between the Grand Canyon and the 
casinos.
33-2 
1. were blooming 2. was eating 3. was crushing 4. was warning 5. was welcoming 6. was 
putting 7. were wearing 8. were playing 9. were hiding 10. was reading 11. was wearing
12. was talking 13. were crying 14. was grieving 15. were weaving 16. was combing 17. was 
scolding 18. was working 19. were frightening 20. was gambling 21. were flying 22. was 
acting 23. were reaching 24. was sweeping 25. were hatching 26. was putting
34 
The Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense: Negative Form
34-1 
1. She was not getting chemotherapy treatments for lung cancer. She wasn’t getting chemotherapy 
treatments for lung cancer. 2. My stomach was not growling in class this morning. My stomach wasn’t 
growling in class this morning. 3. We were not driving on the wrong side of the road. We weren’t driving 
on the wrong side of the road. 4. He was not smiling at you. He wasn’t smiling at you. 5. It was not 
nipping my ankle. It wasn’t nipping my ankle. 6. The collar was not choking the dog. The collar wasn’t 
choking the dog. 7. Tania was not succeeding in her course and she quit. Tania wasn’t succeeding in her 
course and she quit. 8. The guests were not eating the potato salad. The guests weren’t eating the potato 
salad. 9. They were not joking. They weren’t joking.
34-2 
1. wasn’t snipping 2. wasn’t working 3. weren’t overdoing 4. wasn’t relying 5. wasn’t carrying
6. weren’t making 7. wasn’t carving 8. wasn’t coping 9. wasn’t slurring 10. weren’t diving
11. wasn’t tasting 12. weren’t feeding 13. wasn’t cleaning 14. wasn’t flapping 15. weren’t distracting
16. wasn’t dripping 17. wasn’t wearing 18. weren’t sitting 19. weren’t jumping 20. weren’t rotting
21. wasn’t hovering 22. wasn’t petting 23. weren’t counting 24. wasn’t wearing 25. wasn’t breathing
26. weren’t laughing
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1/15/19 11:10 AM

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