If you’re learning English as an additional language one of the first and most important things you need to learn is how to talk about things that happened in the past, things that happen in the present, and things that will happen in the future. English has different tenses you can use to express the past. In this article, we’ll understand how to express ideas in the past continuous (or past progressive).
In case you need to remember all of these tenses, check out this amazing overview of all verb tenses in English!
If you want to see examples of the past continuous tense, visit our very informative article with 100 past continuous tense examples!
Past Continuous (or Past Progressive) in English
The past continuous (or past progressive) is a tense used to refer to the past in English. However, differently from the past simple, which refers to something that happened at a specific point in the past, the past continuous is used to talk about something that continued during a period of time in the past. It emphasizes not only what happened but also its duration. It is often used to talk about actions that were happening when something else happened (I was taking a shower when he called me), parallel actions (I was watching tv while she was doing her homework), repeated actions in the past (I was going to that park every day), actions that happened before or after another action (They were playing when I got there), and actions that lasted for some time in the past (It was raining cats and dogs).
How to Form the Past Continuous (or Past Progressive)
| SUBJECT PRONOUN | VERB BE IN THE PAST (AUXILIARY) | MAIN VERB (-ING FORM) |
| I | was | studying |
| You | were | working |
| He/she/it | was | playing |
| We | were | running |
| They | were | walking |
Affirmative, Negative, and Interrogative (Question) Forms
To form an affirmative sentence in this tense, you use the structure subject + be in the past + verb (-ing form) + object.
To form a negative sentence in this tense, you use the structure subject + be in the past + not + verb (-ing form) + object.
To form an interrogative sentence (question) in this tense, use the structure: Be in the past + subject + verb (-ing form) + object + question mark (?).
| AFFIRMATIVE | NEGATIVE | INTERROGATIVE (QUESTION) |
| I was studying | I wasn’t studying | Was I studying? |
| You were working | You weren’t working | Were you working? |
| He/she/it was playing | He/she/it wasn’t playing | Was he/she/it playing? |
| We were running | We weren’t running | Were we running? |
| They were walking | They weren’t walking | Were they walking? |
Short answers
To answer questions in the past continuous you can use short answers.
| QUESTION | AFFIRMATIVE ANSWER | NEGATIVE ANSWER |
| Was I…? | Yes, I was/Yes, you were. | No, I wasn’t/No, you weren’t. |
| Were you…? | Yes, I was/Yes, we were. | No, I wasn’t/No, we weren’t. |
| Was he/she/it…? | Yes, he/she/it was. | No, he/she/it wasn’t. |
| Were we…? | Yes, we were. | No, we weren’t. |
| Were they…? | Yes, they were. | No, they weren’t. |
Action Verbs vs. Stative Verbs
The past continuous tense is usually used with action verbs. As suggested by their name, these verbs express actions. Such verbs are: walk, run, cook, watch, read, write, listen to, send, drive, ride, visit, etc.
The past continuous tense isn’t usually used with state verbs. As suggested by their name, these verbs express states. Such verbs are: love, hate, like, dislike, seem, want, know, need, etc.
| APPROPRIATE USE | INAPPROPRIATE USE |
| I was wanting to buy a new house. | I wanted to buy a new house. |
| You were liking him. | You liked him. |
| He was needing new shirts. | He needed new shirts. |
| We were knowing the answers to the questions. | We knew the answers to the questions. |
| They were hating staying at that hotel. | They hated staying at that hotel. |
Is this always true?
Well, not exactly. There’s a very famous from a very famous fast-food restaurant, for instance, that says “i’m lovin’ it”.
This is an example of how people use the language creatively and end up changing it.
Another aspect that we need to pay attention to is that some verbs can have either a stative meaning or a more dynamic meaning. Take a look at the examples below.
| INAPPROPRIATE USE | I was having a house. |
| APPROPRIATE USE | I was having a party. |
In the first example above, have has a stative meaning, thus it’s inappropriate to use it in the past continuous.
In the second example above, have has a stative meaning, thus it’s appropriate to use it in this tense.
Past Simple and Past Continuous
The past simple is often used with the past continuous to emphasize something that happened at a specific point in the past while something else was happening. Take a look at the examples below.
| WHAT HAPPENED AT A SPECIFIC POINT IN THE PAST | WHAT WAS HAPPENING DURING THAT TIME |
| I broke my leg | while I was playing soccer. |
| You didn’t see us | because we were hiding. |
| The phone rang | while I was taking a shower. |
| We met them | during the time we were spending in the city. |
| They called us | while we were working at the office. |
When vs. While
When is usually followed by short actions (simple past).
While is usually followed by long actions (past continuous).
| I broke my leg while I was playing soccer. |
| We were hiding when you tried to find us. |
| The phone rang while I was taking a shower. |
| While we were spending time in the city, we met them. |
| We were working at the office when they called us. |
Adverbs of Frequency
When adverbs of frequency are used with the past continuous, they usually go between the auxiliary verb be (and its negation) and the main verb. Look at the examples below.
| I was always studying. |
| You weren’t often working. |
| He/she/it was sometimes playing. |
| We weren’t frequently running. |
| They were hardly ever walking. |
WH Question Words
When WH question words are used with questions in the past continuous, they go before the auxiliary verb be. Look at the examples below:
| What was I doing? |
| Where were you staying? |
| What time was he/she/it going to work? |
| When were we talking to her? |
| How long were they traveling? |
Example Sentences
| ‘Everybody was running’: Video played in court shows chaotic scene as two people were shot outside Lincoln High (The Philadelphia Inquirer) |
| ‘Wasn’t enjoying anything’: Aussie UFC star Robert Whittaker’s stunning retirement admission (Fox Sports) |
| ‘Why are they not getting better?’: How one Black doctor is working to fight racial disparity in healthcare (TMJ4) |
| ‘I wasn’t doing very well:’ Longview Homeless Resource Day gives some a hand up (KLTV) |
| Nicola Sturgeon: Boris Johnson ‘knew what he was doing‘ with Keir Starmer Savile slur (The National) |
| Sissi Rada: “We were doing an improvised performance with Brian Eno. I wore a burka and played harp with a vibrator” (musicradar) |
| ‘We were taking our anger out on Novak Djokovic’, says ATP ace (tennis world) |
| ‘What were you thinking!’ Ben Shephard blasts Tipping Point player for incorrect answer (Daily Express) |
| Tell us: what were you doing on 20 May 2020? (The Guardian) |
| Suspicious Antwerp said it was “enormously distressed by the news” and was doing “everything” to assist the families of those who lost their lives in the disaster (The Washington Post) |
If you want to master every aspect of English grammar, take a look at our awesome article on the best books to learn English grammar.
