What is past continuous tense? We use the past continuous (or also called past progressive) to talk about actions that were ongoing and continuing around a specific past time.
When do we use the simple past continuous?
Take a look at this sentence.
I was playing tennis.
I was in the middle of doing that at a specific time when the action or situation had already started before this time but had not finished.
This time last year I was studying for my exams.
He wasn’t looking at me while we were at the party.
Table of Contents
Forms
The structure of past continuous is:
Was/Were + verb + ing (verb + ing = present participle)
Note:
- I/He/ She/ It 》was
- You/We/They 》were
| Subject | Verb |
| I | was doing |
| You | were doing |
| He/She/It | was doing |
| We | were doing |
| They | were doing |
She was making dinner.
They were playing a game.
Negative
For making negative sentences we use not after “was/were”.
| Positive | Negative |
| I was reading. | I wasn’t reading. |
| You were reading. | You weren’t reading. |
| He/She/It was reading. | He/She/It wasn’t reading. |
| We were reading. | We weren’t reading. |
| They were reading. | They weren’t reading. |
They were not studying English.
She was not baking cookies.
Contractions
The contracted form of “was not” and “were not” is 》”wasn’t” and “weren’t”
Questions
To form a Yes/No question in the past continuous tense we change the place of the subject and was/were and then the present participle of the verb.
Was/were + subject + verb + ing
| Statement | Question |
| I was playing. | Was I playing? |
| You were playing. | Were you playing? |
| He/She/It was playing. | Was he/she/it playing? |
| We were playing. | Were we playing? |
| They were playing. | Were they playing? |
Was she painting? Yes, she was./No, she wasn’t.
Were they going out? Yes, they were./No, they weren’t.
Wh questions
To form a wh question (also called an information question), the structure is like this:
Wh + was/were + subject + verb + ing
What was he doing? He was washing the dishes.
Where were they going? They were going to the cinema.
Usage
We use the past continuous to talk about actions that were in progress in the past. (They were happening continuously in the past). Study this example situation:
It is 7:00 now. John is at work.
He is preparing the projects.
At 5:30 he wasn’t at work. He was at home.
He was taking a shower. He wasn’t exercising.
Intermediate points
What is the past continuous tense?
I was playing tennis.
I was in the middle of doing that at a specific time when the action or situation had already started before this time, but hadn’t finished.
Non-progressive verbs
Some verbs like “know”, “want”, “doubt”, etc are not normally used in continuous forms.
We knew how to cook. (Not: we were knowing …)
I was happy there but he wanted to leave sooner. (Not: he was wanting …)
Past continuous (I was doing) and past simple (I did)
Something happens in the middle of something else. We often use the past simple and past continuous together to say that something happens in the middle of something else.
| Past Continuous (in the middle of an action) | Past Simple (completed action) |
| She was cooking food when we arrived. | She cooked food after dusting the furniture. |
| Dann was playing soccer when his mother called him. | Dann played soccer last week. |
Something happens in the middle of something else:
We often use the past simple and past continuous together to say that something happened in the middle of something else.
She phoned while we were dancing.
My dad arrived when we were fighting together.
It was raining when I left there.
But the simple past is used to say that one thing happened after another. Compare:
When he arrived, we were playing chess. (We had already started before he arrived.)
When he arrived, we played chess. (He arrived, and then we played chess.)
Repeated actions
To talk about repeated and habitual actions in the past we normally do not use the past continuous. The past simple is used instead.
I hit the ball twice. (Not: I was hitting …)
Did you drive on Red road every day? (Not: were you driving …)
Temporary actions and situations
The past continuous is used to talk about ongoing actions and situations in the past. But when we want to talk about more permanent or longer situations we use the past simple. Compare:
The earthquake happened while I was living in London last year.
My parents lived in Paris since 1998 while they were colleagues in an office.
Two actions happening at the same time
We use the past continuous to talk about two actions that both were happening at the moment and were in progress.
I was washing the dishes, my mom was dusting the furniture.
They were dancing while I was talking on the phone.
Changes for another level
We also use the past continuous to talk about changes and developments. (Those that were increasing to another level over time.)
His lungs were going worse.
The flower was growing up quickly.
Storytelling
Whenever we want to talk about the background of a story which was in the past, we use the past continuous at the beginning of the story. (We use the simple past to narrate a story, but for talking about the background we use the past continuous.)
The day after tomorrow I was talking to my mom when she came.
The sun was rising when I went to the airport.
Advanced points
Less important situations
We can use the past continuous to talk about the situations which are less important.
I studied math with one of the best professors yesterday. (Important piece of news.)
I was studying math with my classmate yesterday and. (a less important piece of news.)
Enexpectedly and unplanned
Note: with “always” and other similar words we can use the past continuous to talk about actions that happened repeatedly, unexpectedly, or in an unplanned way.
My mom was always cooking without getting tired of it.
He was continually bothering me, I did not expect him.
Note: When we want to talk about two actions, situations, or activities that went on over a period of time in the past, we can use the past continuous or the past simple for both.
Paul was taking a shower while Kate was reading a book. (Or … took a shower … read …)
Be careful: When we want to talk about two or more past completed actions that followed one another, we use the past simple not the past continuous.
They ate breakfast together after their daughter got up.
Happened surprisingly
To talk about actions and events that happened surprisingly we often use both the past simple and the past continuous.
When the gardener was in the yard I was making him a cup of coffee. ( or also … made …)
Make a request politely
With the verbs like “think”, “hope”, and “wonder” we can use the past continuous to make a polite request.
I was wondering if you could hand me the salt.
I was thinking if you could tell me where is Mr. Smith.
Second conditional
We can use the past continuous to talk about actions and events which are unreal. (Related to the present or future). We want to say that something would happen if something else was in progress.
If he was studying, he wouldn’t fail.
I would immigrate if I was earning a good living.
Subjunctives
When we want to talk about a situation that we wish was completely different, we can use the past continuous.
I wish I was traveling around the world.
They wish they were having a child. They’re tired of their current situation.
This article was about one of the useful grammar in the past tense with several points and details, we hope it’s useful for you. If you have any questions, just leave a comment.
You can also check out the English Grammar page to read other grammatical articles.