PAST CONTINUOUS

Past Continuous in English is used to:

- Describe actions that WERE IN PROGRESS at a particular time in the past;
Ex: Marta was watching a movie on TV yesterday evening.
- TEMPORARY situations in the past;
Ex: Dan was working for MIT in 1997
- The BACKGROUND to a scene, a story happened in the past (the atmosphere or the
situation before or as the main action happens);
Itwascold and dark; the wind was blowing and it was raining.
- Actions happening simultaneously in the past; longer actions that were happening
while/before another interrupted it.
I was studying while my dad was reading his newspaper. (SIMULTANEOUS ACTIONS).
Mum was doing the washing-up when the telephone rang (LONGER ACTION
INTERRUPTED BY A SHORT ONE)

FORMS
AFFIRMATIVE:
Subject+was/were+ verb (ING)
I wasdoing my homework
You were walking home
He was helping me
…..
NEGATIVE:
Subject+ wasn’t/weren’t+ verb (ING)
She wasn’t studying English
It wasn’t playingloud music
We weren’t having breakfast
…..
QUESTIONS and “short answers”:
Was/Were+subject+ verb (ING)?
Was she having a shower? Yes, shewas/No, she wasn’t.
Were you reading? Yes, I was/wewere/ No, I wasn’t/we weren’t.
Were they screaming? Yes, theywere/No, they weren’t