Example of Past Continuous In English

The past continuous tense in English (past continuous tense), also called the progressive past, is the form of verb conjugation that, as its name suggests, speaks of a action that occurred in the past, which started earlier and continued or stopped after the time we use as a reference.

The basic structure of the present continuous consists of the form of the verb to be conjugated in the past (was or were) and the verb in gerund:

• Was + verb (ing)
• Were + verb (ing)

10 examples of verbs in the past continuous:

1. Was working
2. Was jumping
3. Was crawling
4. Was screaming
5. Was partying
6. Were running
7. Were walking
8. Were calling
9. Were writing
10. Were singing

Rules and uses of the past continuous in English

To express an action or activity that happened in the past, and that at one point ended or was interrupted:

• I was writing a letter when you came.
• You were reading this article yesterday.
• We were working hard until 4 o’clock.

To talk about actions that happened in parallel in the past:

• Every morning we were taking orange juice while you were drinking coffee.
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• I was arriving home just when Evelyn was calling.
• Last week we were studying and you were training.

To express irritation or annoyance about something that happened in the past. For these expressions the adverbs always and constantly are always used:

• In spring, Ann was always using that ugly green and yellow skirt.
• The kids were constantly playing soccer in streets.
• I was always fighting for connect with the internet.

Past continuous forms in English:

Negative form

The negative form of the past continuous in English is formed by adding the negative particle not to the verb form to be, or by using the negative contraction, followed by the gerund verb:

was not / wasn’t + verb (ing)

were not / weren’t + verb (ing)

• The kids were not quiet in the park / the kids weren’t quiet in the park.
• She was not working last week / Sue wasn’t working last week.
• We were not practicing languages ​​in school / We weren’t practicing languages ​​in school.

Interogative form

When adverbs are used to modify the predicate, the adverb is generally written between the verb to be and the gerund verb:

Was + subject + verb (ing)

Were + subject + verb (ing)

• Was Sophie practicing last Monday?
• Were the Monkeys eating bananas in the zoo?
• Are you training in the stadium yesterday?

10 examples of sentences in the past continuous in English (past continuous tense):

1. I was spending too much money.
2. We were training till 6 o’clock.
3. My cousins ​​was taking about his trip when you called.
4. Claire was bringing the fish at time we were going for tomatoes.
5. I hate Joanne was always arriving too late.
6. You weren’t loosing your time.
7. Stevie was watching TV till midnight.
8. Your grandma was sewing that dress 100 years ago.
9. Are you feeling sad?
10. Was Helen cooking the dinner last night?