Exercices sur le Past Continuous en anglais

Résumé de cours Exercices et corrigés

Cours en ligne d’anglais Cours en ligne du Toeic

Exercices et corrigés sur le past continuous anglais

Ces exercices sur le past continuous en anglais vous permettront de vous entraîner afin de ne plus faire d’erreur et de connaître les règles d’utilisation par cœur. Si vous souhaitez vous perfectionner sur le past continous, il préferable de prendre des cours particuliers d’anglais. Un professeur d’anglais particulier pourra vous accompagner au quotidien à mieux maitriser les fondamentaux à l’écrit et à l’oral et vou aidera à atteindre vos objectif d’apprentissage de la langue anglaise.

Exercice 1. Conjuguez les verbes suivants au past continuous.

1. My mother and I (watch)………………TV.
2. She (eat)……………….her lunch.
3. Mary  (do)……………….her homework.
4. I (wait)………………….the bus.
5. My sisters (laughing)………………….out loud.
6. (sleep)…………you…………..?
7. (drink…………you guys……………?
8. He (type)………………on his phone.
9. The sun (shine)……………
10. They (not talk……………….. .

Correction de l’exercice 1.

1. My mother and I were watching TV.
2. She was eating her lunch.
3. Mary was doing her homework.
4. I was waiting the bus.
5. My sisters were laughing out loud.
6. Were you sleeping ?
7. Were you guys drinking ?
8. He was typing on his phone.
9. The sun was shining.
10. They were not talking.

Exercice 2. Conjuguez les verbes suivants au past continuous OU au prétérit.

1. I (watch)………………a movie when I (hear)……………….my mother scream.
2. When I (come)……………….back last night, my husband (cook)…………………
3. Ealier this morning I (clean)……………..the house.
4. I (see)…………….her two days ago. She (wear)……………..her high school uniform. We (talk)…………… when her phone (ring)……………..
5. She (tell)…………….me there (be)……………….someone in the house. I (not believe)………………her when suddenly I (hear)……………..a noise upstairs.
6.  What (do)…………you…………..last night at 8 P.M. ?
7. The police (arrest)……………him as he (go)……………to the airport.
8. Yesterday, my dog (not feel)……………..well.
9. I (not answer)………………..because I (drive)……………..when you (call)………….me.
10. Once upon a time, a woman and her husband (live)…………….in a house on the beach.
11. My mother (read)……………….while my father (watch)……………..TV in the living room.
12. We (go) …………..to the cinema but we (decide)…………….to the museum instead.
13. My parents (have)……………..dinner, (talk)……………….about their work and (laugh)……………..
14. At noon I (hitchhike)………………..on the road.
15. I (do)…………… my homework when the power (go)………………..off.

Correction de l’exercice 2.

1.I was watching a movie when I heard my mother scream.

« when » indique ici que la deuxième action (to hear my mother scream) a interrompu la première (to watch a movie) d’où l’emploi d’abord du past continuous puis du prétérit. Pour vous aider, pensez à l’imparfait en cours de français qui est l’équivalent du past continuous.

2. When I came back last night, my husband was cooking.

« last night » marqueur temporel du passé et « when » justifient l’emploi du prétérit en anglais pour le premier verbe « come » puis l’emploi du past continuous pour le verbe « cook » dont l’action se déroulait avant.

3. Ealier this morning I cleaned the house.

L’emploi du marqueur temporel « earlier this morning » justifie l’emploi du prétérit.

4. I saw her two days ago. She was wearing her high school uniform. We were talking when her phone rang.

« two days ago » est un marqueur temporel du passé, d’où l’emploi du prétérit. « was wearing » est utilisé car on décrit ici la situation de cet événement passé. Dans la troisième phrase avec « when » on constate que l’action « talk » a été interrompue par l’action « ring » d’où l’emploi du past continuous puis du prétérit.

5. She told me there was someone in the house. I did not believe her when suddenly I heard a noise upstairs.

« told » et « was » sont à conjuguer au prétérit car ils sont utilisés dans le cadre d’une narration. « When » implique l’interruption de la première action « believe » par la seconde « hear » mais le verbe « believe » est conjugué au past continuous car il s’agit d’un verbe d’état qui ne se conjugue pas aux temps progressifs.

6. What were you doing last night at 8 P.M. ?

Même s’il y a le marqueur temporel du passé « last night », c’est le prétérit continu et non le prétérit simple qui est ici employé à cause du marqueur temporel « 8 P.M » qui indique un moment précis dans le passé.

7. The police arrested him as he was going to the airport.

La conjonction « as » indique une action se déroulant pendant qu’une autre action se déroule. L’action qui se déroulait en premier ici est l’action « go to the airport » d’où l’emploi du prétérit continu et cette action a été interrompue par l’action « arrest » donc conjuguée au prétérit simple.

8.Yesterday, my dog was not feeling well.

L’emploi du past continuous est ici justifié par le fait que cette action est durée dans le passé.

9. I did not answer because I was driving when you called me.

« did not answer » est au prétérit car il s’agit d’une action passée brève et révolue due aux actions passés suivantes. « when » indique que l’action « call » au prétérit a interrompu l’action « drive » qui est donc conjuguée au past continuous.

10. Once upon a time, a woman and her husband were living in a house on the beach.

Il s’agit ici du début d’un récit qui décrit le cadre d’une histoire au passé.

11. My mother was reading while my father was watching TV in the living room.

Ces deux actions sont parallèles et se déroulaient donc au même moment.

12. We were going to the cinema but we decided to the museum instead.

« instead » indique un changement d’avis, d’où l’emploi du past continuous pour exprimer l’action de départ « go to the cinema » avant ce changement d’avis.

13. My parents were having dinner, talking about their work and laughing.

Ces trois actions sont des actions parallèles d’où l’emploi du prétérit continu. La répétition de l’auxiliaire n’est pas nécessaire quand un même auxiliaire concerne plusieurs verbes au prétérit continu.

14. At noon I was hitchhiking on the road.

« At noon indique un moment précis qui justifie l’emploi de ce temps du passé.

15. I was doing my homework when the power went off.

L’action « do my homework » est une action continue du passé interrompue par l’action « go off ».

Exercice 3. Conjuguez les verbes des paragraphes suivants au prétérit simple OU au prétérit continu.

1.Yesterday, while I (cook)…………..Jane (call)…………..She (tell)…………..me she (lose)…………..her phone the day before. She (think)………..she (let)…………it at her home but (realize)…………….it (not be)…………….there when she (come)……………back from school. As she (look)………….for it in her room, her mother (call)………..her from the kitchen asking what she (want)………….to eat for dinner. They (have)…………..lunch and (watch)………. TV when her friend (show up)…….to give her her phone back.

2. When my brother (study)……………..in college, he (work)…………..everyday at a restaurant as a waiter after class. He (do)………..that because his tuition fees (be)……..very high. He (not want)…………. to have a student loan so after class at 7 P.M. he (drive)………….to the restaurant and (work)………..for 4 hours then (go)……….back home to do his homework.

3. The wind (blow)………….very hard when the bus (leave)………..the school. When we (arrive)…………..at home, our parents (wait)……………..for us and (tell)………..us to run into the basement. When my mother (turn)…………the radio on, I (hear)………….people saying a hurricane (be)…………….on the way. As my father (try)……………to prevent the windows from breaking, we (hear)…………our neighbour screaming because the wind (blow) ……….up her window. She (stay)…………..with us until the hurricane (go)………….away.

4. When my sister and I (be)……….younger, we (love)……….playing in the garden. My sister (tell)…………me stories she (think up)……….We (imagine)……….our life as pirates and we (use)………..chairs as boats. Our mother (make)…………..us snacks and (laugh)………….at our imagination. At 5 P.M. we (sit)…………in front of the TV to watch our favorite show.

5. My friend (say)………..that her maths teacher (be)………..so boring that at 3pm some students (sleep)…….. in her class, others (surf)……….on the Internet or (listen)……….music. Suddenly, the teacher (yell)………at my friend for not paying attention to her class. She (suggest)…………my friend to switch to another class if she (not be)…………interested by hers. While the teacher (scold)………..her, she (apologize) and the class (carry on)………….

Correction de l’exercice 3.

1.Yesterday, while I was cooking Jane called. She told me she lost her phone the day before. She thought she let it at her home but realized it was not there when she came back from school. As she was looking for it in her room, her mother called her from the kitchen asking what she wanted to eat for dinner. They were having lunch and watching TV when her friend showed up to give her her phone back.

2. When my brother was studying in college, he worked / was working everyday at a restaurant as a waiter after class. He was doing / did that because his tuition fees were very high. He did not want to have a student loan so after class at 7 P.M. he was driving to the restaurant and (was) working for 4 hours then (was) going back home to do his homework.

3. The wind was blewing very hard when the bus left the school. When we arrived at home, our parents were waiting for us and told us to run into the basement. When my mother turned the radio on, I heard people saying a hurricane was on the way. As my father was trying to prevent the windows from breaking, we heard our neighbour screaming because the wind blew up her window. She stayed with us until the hurricane went away.

4. When my sister and I were younger, we loved playing in the garden. My sister was telling me stories she thought up (verbe d’état). We imagined (verbe d’état) our life as pirates and we were using chairs as boats. Our mother was making us snacks and laughing at our imagination. At 5 P.M. we were sitting in front of the TV to watch our favorite show.

5. My friend said that her maths teacher was so boring that at 3pm some students were sleeping in her class, others were surfing on the Internet or listening music. Suddenly, the teacher yelled at my friend for not paying attention to her class. She suggested my friend to switch to another class if she was not interested by hers. While the teacher was scolding her, she apologized and the class carried on.

Ces exercices sont classiques et peuvent vous préparer au Toefl, à l’examen Ielts ou au Toeic. Ils peuvent également vous servir dans les classes de collège, de lycée et dans le supérieur, tout comme nos autres cours en ligne d’anglais dont :

• le futur
• le conditionnel
• to + indicatif et V+ ing
• le présent simple
• le présent continu