Past continuous

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The past continuous (also called past progressive) is one of the continuous verb forms in English. The past continuous tense mainly describes actions that are in progress at a particular time in the past time frame. [1] [2]


Past Continuous Tense

Forms[change | change source]

Affirmative sentences[change | change source]

Affirmative sentences in the past continuous are formed using verb be (was / were) + base verb -ing. [3]

  • I was eating.
  • She was eating.
  • He was eating.
  • It was eating.
  • We were eating.
  • You were eating.
  • They were eating.

Negative sentences[change | change source]

Negative sentences are formed by adding not (or the short form n't) to the past tense of the verb be.

  • I was not eating.
  • She wasn't eating.
  • He was not eating.
  • It was not eating.
  • We weren't eating.
  • You were not eating.
  • They weren't eating.

Questions[change | change source]

Yes/no question are formed using the past form of the verb be (was / were) + subject + base verb-ing.

Wh-questions begin with one of the wh-question words. (Wh-question words are: what, where, when, why, who, which, whose, how.)

  • Was I eating your pizza?
  • Were you having fun?
  • Was she sleeping?
  • Was it raining outside?
  • Why was she crying?
  • When were they coming?

References[change | change source]

  1. "Past Continuous Tense | Ginseng English | Learn English". Ginseng English. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  2. "Past Continuous Tense: Rules And Examples". Thesaurus.com. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  3. "Past Continuous Tense | ENGLISH PAGE". www.englishpage.com. Retrieved 2022-06-04.