Past

Continuous
Tense
We use this
tense to talk about
actions that were going on, or
happening at a certain
moment in the past.

At this time last Saturday, Paul

was playing in the park with his
friends.

We often use past continuous

to
say what was in progress,
when
something happened:
The phone rang while I was
doing my homework.
I was reading a comic book
while

Key words
1. While

2. Interruption
Last night, while I was sleeping,
the sound of the broken window
woke me up.

Form
Affirmative(Declarative)
- I, He, She, It + was + v-ing
I was studying.
He was playing.
- You, We, They + were + v-ing
You were reading.
They were sleeping.

e
Us

Negative form
- I, He, She, It + wasnt(not) + v-ing
I wasnt (not) studying.
He wasnt (not) playing.
- You, We, They + werent(not) + v-ing
You werent (not) reading.
They werent (not) sleeping.

Question form
- Was + He, She, It + v-ing?
Was he working?
- Were + you, we, they + v-ing?
Were they working?
Short answers
- Yes, he, she, it + was.
you, we, they were.
- No, he, she, it + wasnt.
you, we, they + werent.

e
s
U

e
s
U

- It was raining on Monday so we didnt

play football.
- Dont turn the radio off! I was listening
to it.
We use the simple past to talk about a
complete action(long or short). We use
past continuous for actions which were
not complete at a past time.

e
Us

- Jack got up at 6.00 and worked from

8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- At 8 p.m., when Jack came home, I
was reading cartoon book.
We often use the past continuous and
the past simple together with while.
Past continuous: longer action or situation
Past simple: complete shorter action that
happened during the longer action.

e
Us

- While I was having dinner, the phone

rang.
- While I was talking to my brother, Bill
came in.

were dancing.
was cooking dinner.
was driving home.
was not watching T.V.

Enjoy learning my students