Past continuous tense

Functions of the Past continuous

The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the
past and is still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an unfinished
or incomplete action in the past.

It is used:

 Often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g. "The sun
was shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The
other animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very
quickly. She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was
watching her through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running
towards the river..."
 to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action, e.g. "I
was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
 to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've
decided to get my homework done instead."
 with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g. "I was wondering if you could
baby-sit for me tonight."

Examples

 They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
 Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
 When we arrived he was having a bath.
 When the fire started I was watching television.

Note: with verbs not normally used in the continuous form, the simple past is used.

Forming the Past continuous

The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb "to be"
(was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.

Subject was/were base + ing

They were watching
Affirmative
She was reading
Negative
She wasn't reading
Interrogative
Was she reading?
Interrogative negative
Wasn't she reading?
To play, past continuous

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I was playing I was not playing Was I playing?
You were playing You were not playing Were you playing?
He was playing He wasn't playing Was he playing?
We were playing We weren't playing Were we playing?
They were playing They weren't playing Were they playing?

The past continuous is formed from the past tense of be with the -ing form of the verb:

We use the past continuous to talk about the past:

 for something which continued before and after another action:

The children were doing their homework when I got home.

Compare:

I got home. The children did their homework.

and
The children did their homework when I got home.

As I was watching television the telephone rang.

This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:

The other day I was waiting for a bus when …

Last week as I was driving to work …

 for something that happened before and after a particular time:

It was eight o’clock. I was writing a letter.

Compare:

At eight o’clock I wrote some letters.

In July she was working in McDonald’s.

 .to show that something continued for some time:

My head was aching.

Everyone was shouting.
  for something that was happening again and again:

I was practising every day, three times a day.

They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.

 with verbs which show change or growth:

The children were growing up quickly.

Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.
The Past Continuous Tense
The past continuous tense is most often used for actions happening at some time in the past.

How to form the past continuous

For actions happening at some time in the past

When we want to talk about an action that was happening over a period of time in the past,
we use the past continuous tense. Look at these examples:

 At this time last week I was lying on the beach in Florida.

 My mother was working in the garden so she didn't hear the telephone when I called
her yesterday.
 I had my car fixed because it wasn't working properly.
 Sorry, I wasn't listening. Can you say it again please?
 What were you doing at 8 o'clock yesterday?
 Why were you talking to John when I saw you in the cafeteria yesterday?
 I went to lunch too early. The food was still being cooked. (passive)

The past continuous is very often used with the past simple to say that something happened in
the middle of something else. In each of the following examples, the single event (past
simple) happens in the middle of a longer action (past continuous).

 You phoned while I was having a bath.

 When I got home yesterday, a cat was sitting on the roof.
 It started to rain just as we were getting ready to have our picnic.
 The boy was standing on the table when the principal came into the room.
 Many people were shopping in the market when the bomb exploded.
 I saw Noriko in town yesterday. She was wearing a pink dress and an orange hat!
 When I went to bed last night the sun was already beginning to rise.
 It was lucky we weren't sitting under that tree when the lightning hit.
 What were you doing when the lights went off last night?
 Were you watching me when I showed you how to do it?
 How fast was she driving when she had the accident?
How to form the past continuous
Positive statements
Singular Plural

1st person I was working .. we were working ..

2nd person you were working .. you were working ..

3rd person he/she/it was working .. they were working ..

Negative statements
Singular Plural

1st person I wasn't working .. we weren't working ..

2nd person you weren't working .. you weren't working ..

3rd person he/she/it wasn't working .. they weren't working ..

Questions
Singular Plural

1st person was I working .. ? were we working .. ?

2nd person were you working .. ? were you working .. ?

3rd person was he/she/it working .. ? were they working .. ?