Past Continuous Tense

Form of Past Continuous Tense:

Positive Sentence
Subject + BE +

main verb (V+ing) +

modifier.

was

listening

to music.

You, We, They

He, She, It

were
was

dancing
reading

happily.
books.

Form of Past Continuous Tense:

Negative Sentence
Subject + I You, We, They
He, She, It

BE + NOT +
was were was not not not

main verb (V+ing) + listening dancing

reading

modifier . to music. happily.

books.

wasn't weren't wasn't

Form of Past Continuous Tense:

Yes-No Question
BE + Subject +

main verb (V+ing) +

modifier ?

Was

listening

to music?

Were

you, we, they

watching

Worlds Cup last night?

Was

he, she, it

being

lazy?

Form of Past Continuous Tense:

Wh-Question
Question BE + word

Subject +

main verb (V+ing) +

modifier ?

Who Where Who

was were was

I you, we, they he, she, it

talking watching doing

to when the phone rang?

Worlds Cup last night? at 11 oclock last night?

Use of Past Continuous Tense

1. We use the past continuous to say that an action was in progress at a specific time in the past. The action had already started at this time, but had not finished.

At 5pm yesterday, it was raining. I was having dinner at 6pm last night. Last night at 11 PM, my sister and I (we) were watching TV. At midnight, we were still driving through the desert. What were you doing at midnight last night?

Use of Past Continuous Tense

2. We use the past continuous to say that an action was in progress at every moment during a period of time.

8:00am

12:00pm

4: 00pm

working

working

working

working

working

working

Yesterday she was sitting at her desk at work all day. You were working all day yesterday. Yesterday they were not playing football at 9am. What were you doing at 10pm last night? Jimmy was working at 10pm last night.

Use of Past Continuous Tense

3. We use the past continuous together with the past simple. The past continuous refers to a "longer" or "background" action that was in progress to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted; The past simple refers to a shorter action that interrupted the longer action, or happened in the middle of it. Johns daughter was sleeping when he called her at 8pm.

*Remember: this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time!

Jimmy was taking a bath when the phone rang.

A: What were you doing when you broke your leg? B: I was snowboarding.

Use of Past Continuous Tense

4. We use the past continuous to say that an action in the past was temporary.

Sarah was waiting for her friend for 20 minutes yesterday. You were working in the Sales Department last month. They were living in Paris for a year.

Past Continuous Tense & Past Simple Tense

We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the past simple tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action.

Past Continuous Tense & Past Simple Tense

I was watching TV when Jim knocked the door.
Long action = (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense

Short action = (knocked), expressed with simple past tense

when + short action (past simple tense) while + long action (past continuous tense)
I was watching TV when Jim knocked the door.
I was watching TV When Jim knocked the door Jim knocked the door While I was watching TV when , while , Jim knocked the door. I was watching TV I was watching TV Jim knocked the door