The Past Continuous tense is used:
1. For something which happened before and after another action
The children were doing their homework when I got home.
2. For something that happened before and after a specific time
It was eight o’clock. I was writing a letter.
3. To show that something continued for some time
Everyone was shouting
4. For something that happened again and again
I was practising every day, three times a day.
Affirmative:
We form the affirmative Past Continuous tense with the formula:
Subject + was/were + verb + ing
Negative:
The negative Past Continuous tense is formed:
Subject + was/were + not + verb + ing
Negative Short Forms:
The helping verb Be in the past is was/were, depending in which person we are talking about.
Was not transforms to wasn’t
Were not transforms to weren’t
Interrogative:
And the interrogative Past Continuous:
Was/Were + Subject + verb + ing
| Verb: Play | ||
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
| I was playing | I was not playing | Was I playing? |
| You were playing | You were not playing | Were you playing? |
| He was playing | He wasn’t playing | Was he playing? |
| We were playing | We weren’t playing | Were we playing? |
| They were playing | They weren’t playing | Were they playing? |
Examples:
I was studying when she called.
While I was studying, she called.
Important Note:
