Past Continuous

When to use the past continuous?

You need to use the past continuous to describe something that happened at a specific time in the past.

How to use the past continuous?

You need to look at the subject. If the subject is (he, she, it, I), add (was). If the subject is plural (they, we, you), add (were). Then, add (ing) to the verb. Let’s have a look at the rules that you need to follow:

I + was + verb-ing + object

He + was+ verb-ing + object

She + was + verb-ing + object

It + was + verb-ing +object

They + were + verb-ing + object

We + were + verb-ing + object

You + were + verb-ing + object

Let’s have a look at the past continuous examples to learn more about the past continuous rules:

They were playing football yesterday at 5:00 pm

he was watching TV when the phone rang

She was cooking at 8:00 pm

The children were doing their homework

I was writing in the morning

How to form questions using the past continuous tense?

You need to start the questions with either (was) or (were) depending on the subject. Here is how you can do it:

was + I + verb-ing + object +?

was + he + verb-ing + object +?

was + she + verb-ing + object +?

was + It + verb-ing +object +?

Were + they + verb-ing + object +?

Were + you + verb-ing + object +?

Were + we + verb-ing + object + ?

Let’s have a look at the following past continuous examples to learn more about creating past continuous questions:

Was she reading yesterday evening?

Were the children playing football in the park?

Was he working late yesterday?

Were the kids sleeping when the storm started?

How to form negative sentences using the past continuous tense?

To say (no), you need to add (not) after BE form. Let’s have a look at the rules to learn more about the negative form of the past continuous tense:

I + was + (not) + verb-ing + object

He + was + (not) + verb-ing + object

She + was + (not) + verb-ing + object

It + was + (not) + verb-ing + object

They + were + (not) + verb-ing + object

We + were + (not) + verb-ing + object

You + were + (not) + verb-ing + object

Let’s have a look at the following examples to learn more about the negative form of the past continuous:

The child was not playing with her toys when her father called.

They were not playing football in the park.

He was not working late yesterday.

The kids were not sleeping when the rain started.

Let’s have a short past continuous tense exercise & type your answers below in the comments section 🙂

He __________ (watch) TV when the phone rang.

They __________ (not, play) football at that time.

__________ (she, read) a book when you saw her?

They __________ (have) dinner when the lights went out.

The child __________ (not, sleep) during the flight.

__________ (you, drive) home when the accident happened?

It __________ (rain) heavily when I left the office.

The students __________ (not, study) for the exam yesterday afternoon.

__________ (she, listen) to music when you arrived?

They __________ (prepare) for the presentation all morning.

I hope you find this English grammar lesson useful, let me know if you have any questions related to the use of the past continuous tense or if you have any suggestions for the upcoming topics. Yesterday, I explained about the use of the present continuous tense so feel free to check it 🙂 Also, if you need a private discussion or lessons, email me 🙂

Have a great day & take care!