Past Continuous Tense
Past continuous or past Progressive is basically used to talk about the action that was happening at a specific time in the past. Past continuous is formed by using was/were + V-ing. Now let's explore the forms, usages and examples.
Forms
Positive : Sub + was/were + Ving.
Ex. I was watering the plants at 7 this morning.
Negative : Sub + wasn't /weren't + Ving.
Ex. She wasn’t doing her homework at 11 last night.
Yes/No : Was/were + sub + Ving?
Ex. Was she doing her homework at 11 last night?
Wh-question: Wh-word + was/were + V-ing?
What were you doing at 7 this morning?
Usage
Past continuous or past progressive is used to talk about the action
that was in progress or happening at a specific time in the past.
She was watching TV at 10:00 last night.
So as you can see in this
example last night is the past and 10 is the specific time so the action of
watching TV was in progress or happening.
- At 8:00 this morning she was having breakfast.
- My mom was cooking dinner at 7 this evening.
- What were you doing this time yesterday?
- Were you doing homework at 7:00 last night?
- My teacher wasn't teaching this time yesterday.
Simple Past Vs Past Continuous.
Generally simple past tense is often used in combination with pass
continuous. Let's see the following examples.
When we use past continuous with past simple we need to remember these
points.
*The action in simple past is shorter and interrupt the action of past
continuous.
*The action in past continuous is longer and happen first.
While I was taking a shower the light went out.
So as you can see in the example above the action of the light going out interrupted the action of taking a shower.
While the teacher was teaching, a student asked him a question.Again as you can see in the example the action of asking question interrupted the action of teaching.
When he was driving a dog ran across the street in front of his car.
She was cooking when her phone rang.
Practice
Put the following sentence into the correct form of simple past and past continuous tense.
1. She ________ (cook) when her door bell _____________(ring).
2. When the teacher _____(arrive), students ________(talk) loudly.
3. They _______ (play) soccer when the rain _________(come).
4. We _______ (watch) TV when the light __________(go) out
5. Theara ____(drive) when a cat __________(run) across the road.
6. He _______(sleep) when burglars ______(break) into his house.
7. A woman ________(cross) the street when a car ______(hit) her.
8. While he ___(ride) back home, his motorbike's tire ____(go) flat.
9. They ____ (play) cards happily when the police ______(arrive).
10. His car _____(run) out of gas while he_______(drive).
