The Formula of Past Continuous Tense
We make the
past continuous tense with the auxiliary verb (was, were)
and the present participle or continuous form of the main verb. The actions
described by this tense do not have a known beginning or end.
Positive Sentences
Structure: Subject + was/were + (Verb1) +ing
+ Object
Examples
- I was sitting at the café yesterday.
- They were sitting at the café yesterday.
- He/she/ was studying all morning yesterday.
- You were studying all morning yesterday.
- They were studying all morning yesterday.
Negative Sentences
In negative
sentences, add not after was/were. It is often contracted
as wasn’t/weren’t.
Structure: Subject + was/were + not + (Verb1)
+ ing + Object
Examples
- She was not eating lunch with her friends.
- She was not solving the sums.
- They were not telling us yesterday about their problem.
Interrogative Sentences
In
interrogative form, invert was/were with the subject of the
sentences.
Structure: Was/Were + Subject + (Verb1) + ing
+ Object
Examples
- Was he making a noise?
- Were they making noise?
- What was he studying last night?
Note: Use was with a singular subject, i.e., he,
she, it, etc., and were with “I” and plural subject we,
you and they, etc.
Uses of The Past Continuous Tense
We use it in English to describe actions that were happening over time
in the past when some other event or action took place. In this case, the past
continuous and simple past tense is used together. Both clauses can
be joined by using when at the beginning of the clause that uses simple
past tense and uses while at the beginning of the clause with
past continuous tense. When both the actions are in progress simultaneously,
past continuous tense can be used in both clauses.
Examples
- He was studying his history homework at 9:00 last night. (It means he started his study first, and this work was happening continuously when 9:00 came)
- We were talking about him when he called.
- Was Ahmad sleeping at home when
the light went out?
- While we were eating lunch, the dog jumped
on the table.
- While I was sleeping, the circuit took
fire.
- She was working in a hotel when her sister was studying in high school.
- While I was studying, my friend was watching a movie.
- We were leaving when the phone rang.
- While we were walking to the garden, it began to rain.
- My brother hurt his hand while he was working in the garden.
There are many situations
in which both past simple and past continuous tense can be used.
Examples
- Ahmad played cricket all yesterday morning.
- Ahmad was playing cricket all yesterday morning.
- Cristina watched movies all night.
- Cristina was watching movies all night.
- She practiced piano all morning yesterday.
- She was practicing piano all morning yesterday.
It describes temporary situations that continued for some time in the past.
Examples
- He was working from 8:00 to 5:00 yesterday.
- Before her speech in the university, she was practicing five-seven every day.
- Before her speech in the university, she practiced five-seven every day.
This tense is also used
when we want to make a definite arrangement for the future in the past.
Example
- I enquired him what he was doing next Friday. (This is a definite arrangement for the future in the past)
Past Continuous and Past Simple Difference
They are sometimes
used together when we want to indicate a longer action and a new action
happened in the middle of that action; we use past continuous tense for longer
action and past simple for the new action.
Examples
- When I saw you, you were playing cricket?
- They were talking about him when he
called.
- I was sleeping when the phone rang.
- They were eating lunch when I came.
The past continuous describes gradual processes while
the past simple describe that come to an end.
Past Continuous: The flood was
getting faster and faster.
Past Simple: The flood got
faster and faster.
For other times that an action happened over time in
the past, a simple past is always used.
When past simple and past progressive use together, we
use when and while to join the two clauses together.
Examples
- While we were playing, the rain
came.
- The rain came when we were playing.
- She broke the cup when/while she was washing up.
- She was washing up when she broke the cup.
- She was writing on the board when the professor entered the class.
- What were they talking about when the train interrupted them?
Both past simple and past continuous are always okay
when we are talking about only one action that happened overtime in the past.
Example
She played the game all morning. (Past Simple)
She was playing the game all morning. (Past
Continuous)
These two sentences have the same meaning, but the
second sentence stresses that the action is continued for some time in the past.
Past Continuous Tense Further Examples
- They were studying physics at 9 am the day before yesterday.
- We were planning to arrange a party at my home, but we didn’t have time.
- She was reading a novel when I arrived.
- Her son wasn’t feeling well.
- What were they talking about when we knocked on the door?
- Where were you living for five years?
- Was she cooking when I called?
- Was the baby getting proper milk?
- What was he doing all night?
- The weather was getting colder.
- The children were singing the national anthem.
- The people shouted as the Prime Minister was speaking.
- She was walking on the phone when she slipped on a banana skin.
- I was studying English when I was in high school.
- He wasn’t watering the plants at 6 a.m. yesterday.