The past continuous tense is used to describe a long action in the past. The action is finished.
- Jenny was baking a cake yesterday.
(long action/baking a cake – finished time/yesterday)
The past continuous tense is also used to describe a long action in the past that was stopped by a shorter action. The shorter action uses the past simple.
- I was having a bath when the phone rang.
(long action/having a bath – shorter action/phone rang)
The past continuous tense is also used if two long actions happened at the same time in the past. They are linked using while.
- I was reading a book while my wife was watching TV.
(past continuous + while + past continuous)
The past continuous is formed using subject + was/were + verb + ing.
- I was painting the door.
(subject/I + was + verb/paint + ing) - We were walking in the mountains.
(subject/we + were + verb/walk + ing)
The negative is formed using subject + was/were + not + verb + ing.
- I was not painting the door.
(subject/I + was + not + verb/paint + ing) - We were walking in the mountains.
(subject/we + were + not + verb/walk + ing)
The question is formed using question word + was/were + subject + verb + ing.
- When was I painting the door?
(question word/when + was + subject/I + verb/paint + ing) - When were we walking in the mountains?
(question word/when + were + subject/we + verb/walk + ing)
For yes/no questions it is formed using was/were + subject + verb + ing.
- Was I painting the door?
(was + subject/I + verb/paint + ing) - Were we walking in the mountains?
(were + subject/we + verb/walk + ing)
Common mistakes with tenses.
