Continuous Tense Exercise for Class 8 CBSE With Answers

Basic English Grammar rules can be tricky. In this article, we’ll get you started with the basics of sentence structure, punctuation, parts of speech, and more.

Continuous Tense Exercise For Class 8 CBSE With Answers PDF

Statements

Subject Verb
Positive Negative
I am playing (Em) am not playing (I’m not playing)
you, we they are playing are not playing (you’re not playing, you aren’t playing)
He, she, it is playing is not playing (he’s not playing, he isn’t playing)

Questions

Subject Positive Negative
I Am I playing well? Am I not playing well?
you, we, they Are you playing today? Are you not playing today? Aren’t we playing today?
he, she, it Is he playing well? Is he not playing well? Isn’t he playing well?

Function
We use present continuous tense:
1. to describe an action that is happening now.
Examples:

  • The old man is walking down the street.
  • The women are not cutting grass.

2. to talk about temporary situations.
Examples:

  • I am staying at my friend’s house for a few days.
  • He is not preparing a wildlife documentary film as of now.

3. to talk about something that is happening these days, over a long period of time.
Examples:

  • The earth is getting warmer.
  • Polar ice caps are slowly melting.

4. to talk about an activity or action planned for future.
Examples:

  • Aastha and Anshu are going to the Amazon Rainforest next month.
  • We are throwing a grand reception for our victorious cricket team next week.

5. to describe a continuing series of actions; with words like always, forever, constantly, etc. to mean often.
Examples:

  • Shalini is always trying to cook new dishes.
  • My friends are forever playing games on their mobile phones.

Continuous Tense Exercise Solved Examples for Class 8 CBSE

A. Fill in the blanks with the present continuous forms of the verbs given in the brackets.

Question 1.
Sara ……………………………… on her bed. (sleep)
Answer:
Sara is sleeping on her bed. (sleep)

Question 2.
The boy ……………………………… his teeth. (brush)
Answer:
The boy is brushing his teeth, (brush)

Question 3.
He ……………………………… his hair. (comb)
Answer:
He is combing his hair, (comb)

Question 4.
They ……………………………… ready for school. (get)
Answer:
They are getting ready for school, (get)

Question 5.
The boys ……………………………… at the bus stop for their school bus. (wait)
Answer:
The boys are waiting at the bus stop for their school bus. (wait)

Question 6.
He ……………………………… for his exams. (prepare).
Answer:
He is preparing for his exams, (prepare)

Question 7.
He ……………………………… to New Delhi next month. (go)
Answer:
He is going to New Delhi next month, (go)

Common errors Some verbs are never used in the present continuous tense. For example, we never say:

  1. I am wanting two mangoes. ✗
    I want two mangoes. ✓
  2. Seeta is knowing Geeta. ✗
    Seeta knows Geeta. ✓

Here are more such verbs:

believe, belong, concern, consist, contain, depend, hate, hear, involve, know, like, love, matter, mean, need, owe, own, possess, prefer, realize, recognize, remember, resemble, respect, see, seem, suppose, understand, want, wish.

This only means that these words are not used in the continuous form, i.e. be verb + -ing form of the verb. Most of them have -ing forms which are used as nouns, adjectives, prepositions, etc.
Examples:

  • his belongings, realizing her mistake, depending on

Past Continuous Tense

Statements

Subject Verb
Positive Negative
I, he, she, it was playing was not playing (wasn’t)
you, we they were playing were not playing (weren’t)

Questions

Subject Positive Negative
I, he, she, it Was she singing …? Was he not doing …?
Wasn’t he doing …?
you, we, they Were you singing …? Were we not doing …?
Weren’t they doing …?

Function

Past continuous tense is used:
1. to talk about incomplete actions that were either stopped because of an interruption that continued to happen before and after another event.
Examples:

  • When the children came in, their father was having tea. (He continued to have tea after the children came in.)
  • I was trying to sleep when the phone rang. (I had to get up.)

2. to talk about two parallel actions that took place together in the past.
Examples:

  • My brother was tidying his room while I was cleaning mine.
  • Yasmin was dialling Jason’s number while Jason was dialling Yasmin’s. Neither call got connected.

3. to create or describe the atmosphere or setting for a story.
Examples:

  • It was raining heavily. The bus was crawling up the mountainous road.
  • Almost all the passengers were asleep but Joseph was listening to music.

B. Fill in the blanks with simple past or past continuous forms of the verbs in brackets.

Question 1.
The boys …………………………… to each other when Rahul …………………………… into the room. (talk, come)
Answer:
The boys were talking to each other when Rahul came into the room, (talk, come)

Question 2.
Rahul …………………………… cricket when the ball …………………………… him. (play, hit)
Answer:
Rahul was playing cricket when the ball hit him. (play, hit)

Question 3.
He an email when the bell ……………………………(write, ring)
Answer:
He was writing an email when the bell rang, (write, ring)

Question 4.
His father …………………………… the car when he …………………………… home. (clean, get)
Answer:
His father was cleaning the car when he got home, (clean, get)

Question 5.
Rhea …………………………… When she …………………………… her ankle. (exercise, sprain)
Answer:
Rhea was exercising when she sprained her ankle, (exercise, sprain)

Question 6.
He …………………………… to finish his work, before his sister …………………………… (try, arrive)
Answer:
He was trying to finish his work, before his sister arrived, (try, arrive)

Question 7.
Rohit …………………………… down the road with his dog, when he …………………………… his cousins driving past. (walk, see)
Answer:
Rohit was walking down the road with his dog, when he saw his cousins driving past, (walk, see)

Question 8.
While Raman …………………………… at a barber’s shop, his neighbor’s son …………………………… in. (sit, walk)
Answer:
While Raman was sitting at a barber’s shop, his neighbour’s son walked in. (sit, walk)

Future Continuous

Subject Verb Question
Positive Negative Positive Negative
I, he, she, it,
you, we, they
will be visiting/’ (he)’ll be visiting will not be visiting/won’t
be visiting
Will he be visiting …? Will she not be visiting …?
Won’t she be visiting …?

Function
We use future continuous for actions that will be happening at a particular time in future.
Examples:

  • In five years’ time the young man will be working as a doctor.
  • His sister will be joining the City Hospital as an administrator in a week’s time.

C. Fill in the blanks with the specified forms of the verbs in brackets.

Question 1.
The general body meeting …………………………… (go) to be held in the conference hall next week. (use present continuous tense)
Answer:
The general body meeting is going (go) to be held in the conference hall next week, (use present continuous tense)

Question 2.
The meeting …………………………… (start) at 10 o’clock in the morning. (use simple present tense)
Answer:
The meeting starts (start) at 10 o’clock in the moiling, (use simple present tense)

Question 3.
The lady …………………………… (address) a distinguished audience. (use future continuous tense)
Answer:
The lady will be addressing (address) a distinguished audience, (use future continuous tense)

Question 4.
There …………………………… (be) an executive meeting in the committee room tomorrow. (use simple future tense)
Answer:
There will (be) an executive meeting in the committee room tomorrow, (use simple future tense)

Question 5.
The executive meeting …………………………… (be) on Wednesday. (use simple present tense)
Answer:
The executive meeting is (be) on Wednesday, (use simple present tense)

Question 6.
Next Thursday …………………………… (be) a holiday. (use simple present tense)
Answer:
Next Thursday is (be) a holiday, (use simple present tense)

Question 7.
The Chairman …………………………… (go) abroad next Friday. (use present continuous tense)
Answer:
The Chairman is going (go) abroad next Friday, (use present continuous tense)

Question 8.
The lady …………………………… (visit) two regional ofices next week. (use present continuous tense)
Answer:
The lady is visiting (visit) two regional offices next week, (use present continuous tense)