The past continuous (also known as the past progressive) is a verb tense used to describe actions or events that were ongoing at a specific time in the past.
It often sets the scene for another action or provides background information in a story.
How It’s Formed:
- Structure:
was/were + verb + -ing- Use “was” with singular subjects (I, he, she, it).
- Use “were” with plural subjects (you, we, they).
Examples:
- I was reading a book when the phone rang.
- (“Was reading” indicates an ongoing action in the past that was interrupted by another action.)
- They were playing soccer all afternoon.
- (“Were playing” shows that the action of playing soccer was happening over a period of time in the past.)
- She was working on her project last night.
- (“Was working” suggests that the action was ongoing during a specific time in the past.)
Usage:
- To describe an action that was happening at a specific moment in the past:
- At 8 PM, I was watching a movie.
- To describe two actions that were happening at the same time in the past:
- While I was cooking, my brother was cleaning the house.
- To set the scene in a story or describe background activities:
- It was raining, and people were hurrying to get indoors.
The past continuous tense is useful for giving more context or setting up actions that occurred simultaneously or were interrupted by another event in the past.
Learning Activities:
Activity #1: Teacher writes a time on the board (example: 8:45pm) and you have to remember what you were doing the day before at that time. Write the sentences on your notebooks.
Activity #2: Pass The Story! Divide the class in groups of 3. Each group has a piece of paper. One student starts the story (about the past) by writing 1 sentence. The piece of paper is passed to the next student to continue with the story and so on! Only use the past simple and the past continuous.