Past Continuous tense

The Past Continuous tense

(Or past progressive tense)

How can we make the past continuous? Firstly, check that you know how to make the past simple with 'be' (subject + was / were). Then just add verb-ing.

How to USE the past continuous
Here's the positive form:

I was sleeping

You were working

He was coming

She was reading 'War and Peace'

It was raining

We were shopping

They were watching a film

Next, here's the negative - it's very easy, just add 'not':

I was not (wasn't) sleeping

You were not (weren't) working

He was not (wasn't) coming

She was not (wasn't) reading 'War and Peace'

It was not (wasn't) raining

We were not (weren't) shopping

They were not (weren't) watching a film

Here's an exercise about the positive and negative verb forms
And, just like the past simple with 'be', to make a 'yes / no' question, put 'was / were' in front of the subject:

Was I listening?

Were you working?

Was she working?

Was he living in Paris at the time?

Was it snowing when you arrived?

Were we eating?

Were they studying?

To make a 'wh' question (of course) put the question word at the beginning:

Why was I working?

Where were you living?

How was she travelling?

Where was he going?

Why was it snowing in the summer?

What were we eating?

Why were they studying?

Using the Past Continuous tense

(Or past progressive tense)

The past continuous tense in English is used quite often, especially when telling stories.

 How to MAKE this tense

1	A continuous action in the past which is interrupted by another action or a time: I was taking a bath when the telephone rang. At three o’clock, I was working.
2	Background information, to give atmosphere to a story: It was a beautiful day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining and in the cafes people were laughing and chatting.
3	An annoying and repeated action in the past, usually with ‘always’: He was always leaving the tap running. (In the same way as the Present Continuous)
4	For two actions which happened at the same time in the past: I was watching TV and he was reading.

NB: Remember you can’t use this tense or any continuous tense with stative verbs.