What Is the Past Progressive (continuous)?
The past continuous in English is a verb tense that is used to talk about continuing actions that took place in the past. There are many situations in which the past continuous is used in a sentence.
When to Use:
1. Interruption in the Past
We use the past continuous to indicate an interruption in the past:
- I was reading a book when he called me.
- When the phone rang, we were having dinner.
- While we were playing tennis, it started to rain.
- What were you doing when the game started?
2. Specific Interruption in the Past
To indicate a specific interruption in the past:
- Last night at 2 AM, I was watching a documentary.
- At noon, we were still driving through the city.
- Yesterday at this same time, I was working on my project.
3. Multiple events in the Past
To show that two or more actions are happening at the same time in the past:
- I was cleaning while she was doing dishes.
- While the professor was lecturing, Tim was sleeping.
- Thomas was not working, and I was not studying.
- They were eating breakfast, discussing future plans, and watching the news.
4. Repetition
With repetition and word “always”:
- He was always coming to work on time.
- She was constantly nagging. She annoyed everyone.
- They were not accepted because they were always complaining.
How to Use:
The past continuous is formed using:
was/were + present participle.
The negative – simply by adding ’not’ :
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| I was writing | I was not (wasn’t) writing |
| You were sleeping | You were not (weren’t) sleeping |
| He was working | He was not (wasn’t) working |
| She was reading | She was not (wasn’t) reading |
| It was raining | It was not (wasn’t) raining |
| We were shopping | We were not (weren’t) shopping |
| They were watching basketball | They were not (weren’t) watching basketball |
To form ’yes / no’ questions, simply put ’was / were’ in front of the subject:
| ’Yes / No’ Question | ’WH’ Question |
|---|---|
| Was I sleeping? | Why was I sleeping? |
| Were you working? | Where were you working? |
| Was she cooking? | How was she cooking? |
| Was he living in London at the time? | Where was he living at the time? |
| Was it snowing when you arrived? | Why was it snowing in the summer? |
| Were we watching something? | What were we watching? |
| Were they studying? | Why were they studying? |
