PAST CONTINUOUS
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.
Content
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).
The structure above is for the affirmative form of the past continuous. However, there are other forms of this tense, which are explained in the following video.
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.
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.)
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.
Have a look at the following presentation to focus on the main aspects of this verb tense.
Here’s a comparison chart between the Past Simple and Past Continuous, taken from the previous presentation, to help you grasp the differences:
Learning Activities
Activity #1: The teacher will write a time on the board (example: 8:45 pm) and you have to remember what you were doing the day before at that time. Write the sentences in your notebooks.
Activity #2: Pass The Story! Divide the class into 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.