The Past Continuous Tense in English

What is the past continuous tense?

The past continuous tense (also called past progressive) is an essential verb form that describes ongoing or interrupted actions in the past.

How to Form the Past Continuous Tense

Structure: Subject + was/were + verb-ing

Examples:

I / He / She / It was working at 6 PM.

You/ We / They were working at 6 PM.

Spelling Rules for -ing:

Most verbs: add -ing

Examples: work → working

Verbs ending in -e: drop -e, add -ing

Examples: write → writing

Verbs ending in short vowel + consonant: double consonant + -ing

Examples: run → running

Verbs ending in -ie: change to -ying

Examples: lie → lying

Structure of Past Continuous Tense:

a) Affirmative Sentences (Positive)

Subject + was/were + verb (-ing)

Examples: She was walking when she fell.

b) Negative Sentences

Subject + was/were + not + verb (-ing)

Examples: She was not (wasn’t) walking when she fell.

c) Questions (Interrogative Sentences)

Was/Were + subject + verb (-ing)

Examples: Was she walking when she fell?

When to Use the Past Continuous Tense

a) Ongoing Past Actions (At Specific Time)

Examples: At 9 PM last night, I was studying.

b) Interrupted Actions (With Simple Past)

Examples: She was sleeping when her alarm went off.

c) Parallel Actions

Examples: While I was doing homework, my sister was watching TV.

d) Setting Atmosphere in Stories

Examples: The wind was blowing, leaves were falling, and children were laughing.

Common Signal Words for Past Continuous:

While

Examples: While I was cooking, the phone rang.

When (often used with a simple past interruption)

Examples: She was studying when the power went out.

Examples: As he was driving, it started to rain.

At [time] (to indicate a specific moment)

Examples: At 8 PM last night, I was watching a movie.

All morning / evening / day /night

Examples: They were playing games all afternoon.

During

Examples: During the meeting, she was taking notes.

Key Usage:

a) The past continuous emphasizes an action in progress when another action (often in simple past) interrupted it.

b) It can also describe a continuous background action in a past narrative.

Verbs NOT Usually Used in Past Continuous

Some stative verbs rarely appear in continuous tenses:

believe, know, understand (mental states)

like, love, hate (feelings)

belong, own, possess (possession)

seem, appear (appearance)