The Past Continuous Tense

The following lesson will show you how to use the Past Continuous Tense in English.

FORMS

The Past Continuous Tense has the following forms:

• Affirmative: S + WAS/WERE + V-ing
• Negative: S + WAS/WERE NOT + V-ing
• Interrogative/Question: WAS/WERE + S + V-ing

USAGE

The Past Continuous Tense is used to express:

• an action that was happening when another action happened in the past
  
  Examples:
  
  We were watching television when the phone rang.
  When the revolution broke out, she was studying in Europe.


• an action that was happening in parallel with another action in the past
  
  Examples:
  
  My mother was listening to the radio while my father was reading some newspapers.
  While the children were playing outside, their parents were cooking in the kitchen.

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