Let's see what comes to mind — no notes, and don't worry about mistakes.
You already know one continuous form. Complete this sentence:
"Shh — the baby right now, so keep the noise down."
Have a go out loud: say two things that are happening right now in the room around you — "The clock is ticking...", "Someone is talking outside..."
Ana: You'll never guess — I bumped into Sam at the station yesterday!
Leo: No way! What were you doing there?
Ana: I was waiting for my train when I saw him on the platform.
Look again at Ana's answer: "I was waiting for my train when I saw him." Why not just "I waited"? Say your idea out loud before you check.
For describing an action that was still going on at a certain moment in the past.
Three snapshots of a Saturday evening:
Before you check: what two ingredients appear in every bold phrase?
Complete each scene. Type only the missing verb phrase.
1. Think about a long flight. This time yesterday, you were already in the air.
"This time yesterday, I on a plane."
2. Your neighbours threw a party that went on for hours.
"At midnight, my neighbours a party — the music woke me up."
3. A storm kept you awake.
"The wind all night — I could hear it through the window."
Think about this time yesterday. Say three things that were happening around you — at home, at work, or in the street.
For a story where something short and sudden interrupts a longer action.
Two different verb forms sit on either side of "when". Say what they are before you check.
The background action ("doing the dishes") stays continuous; the short interruption ("buzzed") stays simple past.
1. You were mid-shower when someone came to the door.
"I a shower when the doorbell rang."
2. Halfway through a football match, the weather turned.
"We football when it started to rain."
3. Something startled you on the way upstairs.
"I up the stairs when I heard a strange noise behind me."
Tell a partner about a time something surprising interrupted you. Start with "I was... when..."
For two long actions happening at the same time in the past.
Say the pattern before you check.
Both actions were happening in parallel, so both become continuous once "while" joins them.
1. Two jobs happened together outside the house.
"While my dad the car, my mum was painting the fence."
2. Two people, two activities, same evening.
"My brother was doing his homework while I a match on TV."
3. A party got started before you were ready.
"While the guests , we were still getting ready!"
Think about your family at a busy time — a party, a house move, cooking together. Say two things that were happening at the same time, using "While..."
Time to use everything today in one real story, in your own words.
Think of a moment when something surprising, funny or annoying happened while you were doing something completely ordinary — waiting for a bus, cooking, walking home, working. (If nothing comes to mind, invent one.)
Tell the whole story out loud for one minute. Try to answer:
Write a short message (3–5 sentences) to a friend about the same story. Use was/were + -ing, and try to include both when and while — the checker will tell you what it finds.
Real life doesn't tell you which form to use. Here everything is mixed — you decide.
Each sentence has one grammar mistake. Rewrite the whole sentence correctly.
1. "I was cook dinner when the phone rang."
2. "I were cooking when she arrived."
3. "When I was cooked, the smoke alarm went off."
4. "While we walked to the shop, it started to rain."
5. "I ___ dinner when the lights went out."
6. "___ you sleeping when I called last night?"
7. "While she ___ her homework, I was making tea."
One-minute challenge: tell the story of the strangest interruption that's ever happened to you. What were you doing, and what happened in the middle of it?
1. The form you knew before today — complete it: "Last night we a film."
2. Say it out loud: how do you talk about something happening right now, at this exact moment? Give an example sentence.
3. It was two in the morning. Describe the scene: "Everyone else , but I was still awake."
4. You burnt your hand while cutting vegetables. Explain why: "I burnt my hand because I attention while I was cutting vegetables."
5. A loud crash interrupted your morning. "We heard a loud crash while we breakfast."
Which practice helped you most today — the interrupted story, the two-things-at-once tab, or fixing the mistakes? Say why you think that one worked for you.
At the start we said: was/were + -ing so you can describe the past, tell stories about interruptions, and talk about two things at once. Tick what's true: