A selection of English ESL past continuous (progressive) tense printables with creative writing prompt, writing practice

Read the beginning of the story. Follow the directions- using mostly past continuous. Complete the story below.

Part of the A2 My Writings booklet.



There are 12 compositions in all. Bind in a spiral or use individually.



Covers found here:



https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/creative_writing_my_writings_cover_a2_level/sports-creative-writing/27826



https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/creative_writing_my_writings_cover_a2_level/sports-creative-writing/27864

Creative Writing: A Scary Story #3 A2 Level

In this activity, children have to use the appropriate links. They have to write the connectors in the gaps. Later, they have to read the short story and write and ending to practise writing.

Write the end of the mystery. Connectors. Reading and writing a composition

This worksheet contains a list  of activities very useful and easy to understand  structures of past continuous in the affirmative form using the words when and while.

past continuous

Students have to number the pictures and then make sentences using the past continuous tense.

If you want to practice more, you can find more of my worksheets about the same topic here

https://en.islcollective.com/mypage/my-creations?search_key=Past+tense&type=printables&option=published&id=5163&grammar=&vocabulary=&materials=&levels=&studentTypes=&skills=&languageExams=&dialect=&functions=&page=1&sorting_type=most_newest&filter_type=filter_all&view_type=list&view_length=12



Last Saturday - Past Continuous

Good to review: past simple, past continuous, present perfect, past perfect and the past participles! Fill ins, circle the correct answer, free writing, and reading practice.

Past tense mixed exercise A2 and up

This worksheet can be a fun activity for the students when they're working in pairs or groups. The students are to continue the story that's started in the worksheet by using at least 5 of the random words I wrote and go on with their own vocabulary, maybe getting a little help from a dictionary. I normally ask my students some random questions before starting the lesson, such as "What's your favourite colour?", "What food do you hate?" and so on and write them on the board as the words they have to use in the story. In the end, the stories always turn out to be super funny, of course a little ridiculous but very creative. I hope you will have fun with your classes too! Have a nice day! 

Creative Halloween Writing

The students work on both past continuous and simple past in the class or it can be done as assignments at home.

Simple past versus past progressive

Learners look at the picture and do tasks (Past Continuous, Prepositions) and comprehension check (true or false). At the end they also write about a Christmas party at their own home. 

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY (Past Continuous Tense)

This is a workshop that includes lots of vocabulary to work with the children. You can use it as a pictionary.

Past Continuous

In this worksheet students will read a story about Hanna, and the events during and after her birthday. It covers key vocabulary, past continuous tense and emotions. Students have the option to finish the story and decide what happened in the end.

Text was taken and adapted from a website, credit is given at the bottom of the worksheets.

Hanna's birthday - Past Continuous

Good writing practice for children. They look at the image and choose a verb themselves. Then they write sentences with the verbs about the children in the past progressive tense.

What were the children doing last night? 

In this lesson, students will explore the use and form of the past continuous tense through guided discovery and communicative activities. The lesson begins with a short warm-up where students recall the past simple tense and compare it with the past continuous. Then, students analyze examples from a short story or dialogue to identify the structure “was/were + verb-ing” and its functions, such as describing actions in progress at a specific time in the past or setting the background for another action.

After that, students complete controlled practice exercises, including sentence transformations, gap-filling, and matching activities to consolidate their understanding. They then move to freer practice tasks, such as describing pictures, retelling stories, or creating role-plays about what people were doing at a certain moment. Finally, students complete a short writing or speaking task that encourages them to use the tense naturally in context, followed by peer feedback and teacher correction.

the past continuous tense

Creative writing prompt

Past continuous (progressive) tense

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

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Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

13 Past continuous (progressive) tense, Creative writing prompt, Writing Practice English ESL worksheets pdf & doc