Past Continuous

Form

The past continuous (also called the past progressive) describes an action that was in progress at a moment in the past.

It is formed with was or were plus the present participle of the main verb (verb + -ing): I was reading, they were waiting. Use was with I/he/she/it and were with you/we/they. For negatives add not (she wasn't listening), and for questions move was or were before the subject (Were you sleeping?).

When to Use It

1. 1

   An action in progress at a specific past time

   At 8 p.m. I was cooking dinner.

2. 2

   A longer background action interrupted by a shorter one

   She was driving home when her phone rang.

3. 3

   Two actions happening at the same time in the past

   He was studying while his roommate was playing music.

4. 4

   Setting the scene or background in a story

   The rain was falling and the wind was howling.

5. 5

   Describing a temporary or repeated past action, sometimes with annoyance

   He was always losing his keys.

Common Mistakes

• Using the wrong auxiliary: say they were playing, not they was playing.
• Using the past continuous for short completed actions: prefer the phone rang, not the phone was ringing for the brief interrupting event.
• Forgetting the -ing form: it is I was watching, not I was watch.
• Using stative verbs in the continuous: say I knew the answer, not I was knowing the answer.