Past Continuous
The Past Continuous (was/were + verb-ing) describes an action that was in progress at a specific moment in the past, often interrupted by another shorter action.
Form: was / were + verb-ing
To make the Past Continuous, use was (for I, he, she, it) or were (for you, we, they) plus the -ing form of the main verb. For negatives, add not after was/were (wasn't, weren't), and for questions, put was/were before the subject. Remember normal spelling rules for -ing, such as making, running, and studying.
- •I was reading a book at 9 p.m.
- •They were not (weren't) playing football.
- •Was she cooking dinner when you arrived?
- •We were waiting for the bus.
Action in progress at a past time
We use the Past Continuous to talk about an action that was happening at a particular time in the past. The action started before that time and was still continuing. It is often used with time expressions like at 7 o'clock, all morning, or at that moment.
- •At 8 o'clock last night, I was watching TV.
- •She was working all afternoon yesterday.
- •This time last week, we were flying to Spain.
- •What were you doing at midnight?
Interrupted actions: Past Continuous + Past Simple
We often use the Past Continuous with the Past Simple to show that a long action was interrupted by a short one. The longer background action takes the Past Continuous, and the shorter interrupting action takes the Past Simple. We usually join the two clauses with when or while.
- •I was having a shower when the phone rang.
- •While they were driving home, it started to rain.
- •She broke her leg while she was skiing.
- •We were eating dinner when the lights went out.
Two actions happening together
The Past Continuous can describe two or more actions that were happening at the same time in the past. We usually connect these parallel actions with while or as. This shows that both activities were in progress together.
- •While I was cooking, my brother was cleaning the kitchen.
- •She was listening to music while she was studying.
- •As we were walking, the children were singing.
- •They were talking while the teacher was writing on the board.