Introduction
The past continuous (also called past progressive) is a verb tense which is used to show that an ongoing past action was happening at a specific moment of interruption, or that two ongoing actions were happening at the same time.
Forms
The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb to be (was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.
Affirmative
Subject + was/were + V(ing)
- You were studying when she called.
- They were watching film.
Negative
Subject + was/were + not + V(ing)
Subject + wasn't/weren't + V(ing)
- You were not studying when she called.
- She wasn't reading.
Interrogative
Was/Were + subject + V(ing)?
- Was she reading?
- Were you studying when she called?
Interrogative negative
Wasn't/Weren't + subject + V(ing)?
- Wasn't she reading?
- Weren't they studying when she called?
Past continuous, function
The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and was still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an unfinished or incomplete action in the past.
It is used:
1. To describe the background in a story written in the past tense
- The sun was shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle.
- The other animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly.
- She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was watching her through his binoculars.
- When the shot rang out, she was running towards the river...
2. To describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action
- I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang.
- I was watching TV when she called.
- When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
- You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
3. To describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by a specific time in the past
- Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
- At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
- Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
4. Parallel Actions in the past
- I was studying while he was making dinner.
- While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
- Were you listening while he was talking?
- I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
- What were you doing while you were waiting?
- Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
- They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
5. for something that happened again and again:
- I was practising every day, three times a day.
- They were meeting secretly after school.
- They were always quarrelling.
6. To express a change of mind:
- I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to go on an excursion instead.
7. with 'wonder', to make a very polite request:
- I was wondering if you could baby-sit for me tonight.
More examples
- They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
- Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
- When we arrived he was having a bath.
- When the fire started I was watching television.
Note: with verbs not normally used in the continuous form, the simple past is used. See list in Present continuous