Introduction

In this unit, we move deeper into the past and explore how to describe actions that were in progress at a specific moment in time. Until now, you have learned how to talk about completed actions using the Past Simple. Now we will focus on something slightly different: actions that were happening in the past, but not necessarily finished at that exact moment.

When you say, “I was studying at 8 p.m.” or “They were watching TV when I arrived,” you are using the Past Continuous. This tense helps you create clearer, more detailed descriptions of past situations and gives your storytelling more depth and precision.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to describe actions in progress in the past using the Past Continuous.

You will form affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences correctly and use this tense naturally when describing past situations and background actions.

Forming the Past Continuous

The Past Continuous is formed with the past of the verb to be (was/were) + verb + -ing.

The structure is: subject + was/were + verb-ing.

For example: “I was reading at 9 p.m.” “She was cooking dinner.” “They were playing football.” “We were studying.”

The Past Continuous describes an action in progress at a specific moment in the past.

It does not focus on the beginning or the end of the action, but on the fact that the action was happening at that time.

Affirmative and Negative Forms

In affirmative sentences, we simply use was or were plus the verb in the -ing form.

To form the negative, we add not after was or were.

For example: “I was not sleeping.” “She wasn’t listening.” “They were not working.” “We weren’t watching TV.”

Just like in the Present Continuous, the verb must always be in the -ing form.

Do not forget the -ing form.

It is incorrect to say “She was cook dinner.” The correct form is “She was cooking dinner.”

Questions

To form questions, we invert was/were and the subject.

For example: “Was she working?” “Were they studying?” “Were you sleeping at 10 p.m.?”

Short answers are simple. “Was she working?” – “Yes, she was.” / “No, she wasn’t.” “Were they watching TV?” – “Yes, they were.” / “No, they weren’t.”

Using the Past Continuous in Context

The Past Continuous is often used to describe background actions in a story. For example: “Yesterday at 8 p.m., I was studying. My brother was watching TV. My parents were cooking dinner.”

It is also commonly used with the Past Simple to describe two actions happening at the same time or one action interrupting another. For example: “I was studying when the phone rang.” In this sentence, the studying was in progress, and the phone call interrupted it.

This tense allows you to create richer, more detailed descriptions of past events.

Practice Exercises

Now it is your turn to practise the Past Continuous.

Complete or transform each sentence carefully. The correct answers are provided in the same table.