Past continuous tense is one of the important tenses in English language. It is used to describe an action or event that was in progress at a particular time in the past.
The past continuous tense is formed using the past tense of the verb “to be” (was/were) + the present participle (-ing) form of the main verb.
In this lesson, we will learn how to form past continuous tense, when to use it and give some examples.
Past Continuous Form
+ | Subject + was/were + verb+ing |
- | Subject + was/were + not + verb+ ing |
? | Was/Were + subject + verb+ ing? |
Examples:
+ | I was playing with my friends when you called. He was watching TV. They were dancing to the music when I arrived. |
- | I was not eating my dinner when Samira left. She was not doing her homework. They were not playing outside last night. |
? | Was I singing too loud? Was he playing video games? Were they reading a book when I called you? |
1. To describe an action in progress at a specific time in the past.
For example:
At 8 pm yesterday, I was having dinner.
2. To describe an action in progress when another event happened.
For example:
She was working when her mother called her.
3. To describe an ongoing action that was interrupted by another action.
For example:
We was cooking when the smoke alarm went off.
Signal Words | |
While | While I was driving, I saw a deer on the road. |
When | When they arrived, we were cooking dinner. |
As | As she was walking down the street, she saw her old friend. |
At (time) | .At 7 pm yesterday, I was having dinner |
Last night | Last ngiht, I was studying until midnight. |
This time(last…) | This time last year, I was living in London. |
Exceptional Spelling Rules:
Spelling Rule | Example |
When adding "-ing" to the end of a verb, you generally drop the final "e" if the verb ends in a silent "e". | Like -> liking Dance -> dancing Drive-> driving |
If the verb ends in a consonant preceded by a single vowel, and the last syllable is stressed, then you double the final consonant before adding "-ing". | Run -> running Swim -> swimming Begin -> beginning |
If the verb ends in a consonant preceded by a double vowel, or if the last syllable is not stressed, then you do not double the final consonant. | Boil -> boiling Visit -> visiting |