Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense describes actions that were happening at a certain time in the past. You already know the basic form — now let's use it in more situations.

What You'll Learn

Use was/were + verb-ing in different types of sentences
Form negative sentences (was not / were not + verb-ing)
Ask questions using the past continuous tense

When to Use

Describing what was happening at a specific time: "At 7 PM, she was practising the piano."
Setting the scene in a story: "The children were playing in the park."
Two actions happening at the same time: "Dad was washing the car while Mum was watering the plants."
Saying what was NOT happening: "They were not paying attention during the lesson."

How to Form

Positive Sentences

Subject	Was / Were	Verb + ing	Example
I	was	verb + ing	I was drawing a picture.
He / She / It	was	verb + ing	She was reading a storybook.
You	were	verb + ing	You were running very fast.
We / They	were	verb + ing	They were swimming at the pool.

Negative Sentences

Add not after was/were. You can also use the short form.

Full Form	Short Form	Example
was not + verb-ing	wasn't + verb-ing	He wasn't listening to the teacher.
were not + verb-ing	weren't + verb-ing	We weren't watching television.

Questions

Move was or were to the front of the sentence.

Structure	Example
Was + I / he / she / it + verb-ing?	Was she sleeping at that time?
Were + you / we / they + verb-ing?	Were they waiting for the bus?

Short Answers

Question	Yes	No
Was he studying?	Yes, he was.	No, he wasn't.
Were they playing?	Yes, they were.	No, they weren't.

Key Rules

"Was" goes with I, he, she, it: These are singular subjects. Say "I was eating", not "I were eating."
"Were" goes with you, we, they: Even though "you" can mean one person, it still takes "were". Say "They were eating", not "They was eating."
Always add -ing to the verb: The verb must end in -ing. Say "She was cooking", not "She was cook."
Spelling changes when adding -ing: Drop the silent -e (make becomes making), double the last consonant for short words (run becomes running, sit becomes sitting).
Use past continuous for actions in progress: If the action was still going on at that moment, use was/were + verb-ing. If the action was already finished, use the simple past instead.

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
I were playing football.	I was playing football.	Use "was" with "I"
They was eating lunch.	They were eating lunch.	Use "were" with "they"
She was read a book.	She was reading a book.	The verb needs -ing
He was runing around the park.	He was running around the park.	Double the "n" before adding -ing
Was they waiting for us?	Were they waiting for us?	Use "were" with "they" in questions too

Clue Words

These words often appear in past continuous sentences:

at that time, at 6 PM yesterday, all morning, all afternoon, while, when

Time phrases: at that moment, during recess, the whole evening

Scene-setting words: as, while, just then

Tip: If the sentence tells you a specific time in the past and the action was still going on, use was/were + verb-ing.

Practice Tips

Check the subject: Look at who is doing the action. Is it I/he/she/it (use was) or you/we/they (use were)?
Add -ing carefully: Remember the spelling rules. Say the word out loud — "running" has two n's, "making" drops the e.
Picture the moment: Imagine you are looking at a photograph taken in the past. What was happening right at that moment? That is the past continuous.
Turn it into a question: Take any positive sentence and move was/were to the front. "She was singing" becomes "Was she singing?"

Quick Reference

Type	How to Form	Example
Positive	was/were + verb-ing	I was eating dinner.
Negative	wasn't/weren't + verb-ing	She wasn't doing her homework.
Question	Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?	Were you waiting for me?
Short answer	Yes, ... was/were. / No, ... wasn't/weren't.	Yes, I was. / No, they weren't.
Two actions	Subject + was/were + verb-ing + while + subject + was/were + verb-ing	Tom was reading while Amy was drawing.

Past Continuous Tense (P3) (Primary 3)