Past Continuous

AFFIRMATIVE

We use was/were + the –ing form of the main verb.

1. I was reading1. We were reading
2. You were reading2. You were reading
3. He/ She/It was reading3.They were reading

NEGATIVE

We use was/were plus the negative particle not (in its full or short form) and the –ing form of the main verb.

1. I was not/wasn’t reading1. We were not/weren’t reading
2. You were not/weren’t reading2. You were not/weren’t reading
3. He/she/it was not/wasn’t reading3. They were not/weren’t reading

INTERROGATIVE

We change the place of was/were and the subject of the sentence to form questions.

1. Was I reading?1. Were we reading?
2. Were you reading?2. Were you reading?
3. Was he/she/it reading?3. Were they reading?

SHOTRT ANSWERS

1. Yes, I was/
No, I wasn’t		1. Yes, we were/
No, we weren’t
2. Yes, you were/
No, you weren’t		2. Yes, you were/
No, you weren’t
3. Yes, he/she/it was/
No, he/she/it wasn’t		Yes, they were/
No, they weren’t

We use the Past Continuous:

1.For actions which were in progress at a stated time in the past

We use the past continuous tense to talk about actions that weren’t finished at a definite time in the past. The time words used in this case are: at 10:00 yesterday, at this time last Monday, etc

Example:

He was listening to music at 11:00 last night.

The baby was sleeping at this time yesterday.

2. For two or more continuous actions that were happening at the same time in the past

We use the past continuous tense for two or more simultaneous actions in the past. We can use the words while or as to show that the two actions were happening simultaneously.

Example:

Anna was reading a book while her mother was cooking.

or While Anna was reading a book, her mother was cooking.

They were looking for apresent as the kids were eating ice cream.

or As they were looking for a present, the kids were eating ice cream.

We can sometimes use when instead of while or as, although when is more commonly used with the past simple.

3. To give the background information in a story

We use the past continuous tense to set the scene at the beginning of a story.

Example:

The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

The wind was blowing and it was raining heavily.

4. For a past action in progress when another action interrupted it.

We use the past continuous tense for the action in progress (the longer action) and the past simple tense for the action which interrupted it (the shorter action). We usually use when before the past simple or while/as before the past continuous.

Example:

While he was listening to music, his phone rang.

or He was listening to music when his phone rang.

You can try the quiz here