Past continuous: structure and examples

StartVerb tenses

He past continuous It is a tense that is used to express actions in progress in the past. For example:Yo was studying earlier in the morning./ I was studying earlier in the morning.

He past continuous is the past of present continuous (present continuous). For example:

• present continuous. For example: YoI'm washing the dishes now./ I'm washing the dishes now.
• past continuous. For example: Yo was washing the dishes earlier today. / I was washing the dishes earlier today.

• See also: «Simple present" in English

Uses of past continuous

He past continuous is used to express:

• Actions in progress that were interrupted for a short action in past simple. For example: I have was cooking when the telephone rang. / He was cooking when the phone rang.
• Descriptions of situations and contexts in the past which are the framework of a story. For example: the sun was shining and the birds were singing./ The sun was shining and the birds were singing.
• Actions that occurred simultaneously with another action
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  . For example: Yo was working while my mother was reading in the garden./ I was working while my mom was reading in the garden.
• Actions in progress at a specific time in the past. These long actions occurred before, during, and probably extended to after the mentioned time reference. For example:Yo was having a shower at 8 this morning./ She was taking a shower at 8 this morning.

structure of past continuous

affirmative structure of past continuous

He past continuous is a compound tense that is formed with the auxiliary was / were + the verb in ing. Follow the structure:

Subject	was / were	verb + ing
Yo I have She Item	was	working
you We They	were

For example: She was running in the park./ She was running in the park.

negative structure of past continuous

Subject	wasn't / weren't	verb + ing
Yo I have She Item	wasn't	working
you We They	weren't

For example: They weren't working in Canada during the 1990s./ They were not working in Canada during the 90s.

interrogative structure of past continuous

The interrogative structure of the past continuous is formed by preceding the auxiliary was / were to the subject, as appropriate:

was/were	subject	verb + ing
Was	Yo I have She Item	working?
Were	you We They

For example: Were you studying the whole weekend?/ Were you studying all weekend?

Examples of sentences in the past continuous

1. Emily was having dinner with friends at 9 p.m. yesterday.
   Emily was having dinner with friends yesterday at 9pm.
2. Yo was working a lot during my stay in Mexico.
   I was working a lot during my stay in Mexico.
3. Taylor she was living in the U.S. for years.
   Taylor had been living in the United States for years.
4. Item it was raining the whole vacation.
   She was raining all vacation.
5. I dozed off while we were watching television.
   I fell asleep while we were watching TV.
6. A beautiful breeze she was blowing so gently that she decided to remain outdoors.
   A beautiful breeze was blowing so gently that she decided to stay outdoors.
7. I know somebody was following I.
   I know someone was following me.
8. Harry she was trying to find a job for several months last year.
   Harry had been trying to find a job for several months last year.
9. Emma she was waiting outside the house for two hours.
   Emma was waiting outside the house for two hours.
10. Yo was listening to music the whole flight.
    I was listening to music throughout the flight.
11. The students were talking while the teacher she was explaining the new topic.
    The students were talking while the teacher was explaining the new topic.
12. The thieves took the painting while the security guard wasn't looking.
    The thieves took the painting while the security guard was not looking.
13. Peter was having a shower when he heard a bang.
    Peter was taking a shower when he heard an explosion.
14. Were you talking take?
    Were you talking to me?
15. Yo was just browsing at the store.
    He was just looking in the business.
16. what speed was the suspect doing when he crashed?
    How fast was the suspect going when he crashed?
17. I met Sam while we were studying at university.
    I met Sam while we were studying at the university.
18. Karen she was wearing a nice black dress at the party.
    Karen was wearing a nice black dress at the party.
19. my mother was working when I got back home.
    My mother was working when I returned home.
20. The dogs next door were barking the whole night.
    The dogs next door were barking all night.
21. When Ted was cooking, he burned his hand.
    When Ted was cooking, he burned his hand.
22. When I was coming home last night, I bumped into Terry.
    When I was coming home last night, I ran into Terry.
23. I have was doing 80 miles per hour round the curb when the police stopped him.
    He was going 80 miles per hour around the curve when the police pulled him over.
24. Matt was going to Berlin when I saw him at the airport last Friday.
    Matt was going to Berlin when I saw him at the airport last Friday.
25. que were you doing when I arrived?
    What were you doing when I got here?
26. The baby was coughing all night long.
    The baby was coughing all night.
27. She was only trying to help us.
    She was just trying to help us.
28. I met my new employer when we were traveling back from Australia.
    I met my new employer when we were traveling back from Australia.
29. I have wasn't paying enough attention.
    He not paying enough attention.
30. We were looking for a new restaurant.
    We were looking for a new restaurant.
31. Was I have telling the truth?
    Was he telling the truth?
32. Item it was raining, so I decided to stay home.
    It was raining so I decided to stay at home.
33. We werefinishing our desserts when the waiter brought the check.
    We were finishing dessert when the waiter brought the bill.
34. I bought this painting when we were visiting Florida.
    I bought this painting when we were visiting Florida.
35. as we were watching a movie, I didn't answer the phone.
    Since we were watching a movie, I didn't answer the phone.
36. They were beginning to lose hope when suddenly the solution appeared.
    They had started to lose hope when suddenly the solution appeared.
37. Yo was looking for my keys when I came across some old family photographs.
    I was looking for my keys when I found some old family photos.
38. We were paying too much for the service.
    We were paying too much for the service.
39. Were they having fun?
    Were they having fun?
40. my grandparents were walking in the park.
    My grandparents were walking in the park.
41. Yo wasn't touching cualquier cosa!
    I wasn't touching anything!
42. Tom was playing the violin in the city orchestra for many years.
    Tom was playing violin in the town orchestra for many years.
43. My friends were traveling for a month last summer.
    My friends were traveling for a month last summer.
44. The children were swimming in the pool while we were sunbathing.
    The children were swimming in the pool while we were sunbathing.
45. Were you watching a horror movie?
    Were you watching a horror movie?
46. Was Josh working when you called him?
    Josh was working when you called him?
47. Was the printer working this morning?
    Was the printer working this morning?
48. Were they asking for me?
    Were they asking about me?
49. Item it was snowing heavily when the accident happened.
    It was snowing heavily when the accident occurred.
50.  Alice and Mike were talking for hours.
    Alice and Mike were talking for hours.

What are the differences between past continuous and past simple?

PAST SIMPLE	PAST CONTINUOUS
Treat past actions as one-off events. Yo watched a soccer match last night.	It gives time and duration to past actions. Yo was watching TV last night.
Express short actions. John arrived beats.	Expresses a long action in progress when a short action interrupted it. She was sleeping when the telephone rang.
List actions that happened consecutively in the past. Yo got up at 7 in the morning. Yo had a shower and then I had breakfast.	It expresses actions that took place simultaneously, in parallel. Jenny was having a bath and Tommy was washing the dishes.
If a long time reference is used, the past simpleindicates that the action started and finished. Yo read a book during the flight to London.	The use of past continuousexpresses that the action took place during a period, but was not finished until some time later. Yo was reading a book during the flight to London.
It is used together with the so-called stative verbs (verbs that express a state: love, like, believe). James loved his family of him all his life of him.

Follow with:

• Future Simple in English «will«
• «Conditional" in English
• Passive voice in English

Interactive test to practice