46YS

1. Past
continuous
Simple English
Intermediate level

2. Use
 The past continuous is used for actions
that occurred at a specific time in the
past. As the present continuous is formed
with the verb "to be" and the gerund.
Subject Auxiliar (to be) Gerund
I, He, She, It was
talking,
eating,
learning,
doing,
going...
You, We, They were
talking,
eating,
learning,
doing,
going...

3. Examples
 He was doing his homework
 She wasn’t eating her dinner
 They were playing tennis

4. Structure
 Affirmative:
Subject + was/were+ gerund
 Examples:
I was talking
We were studying English
You were cooking the dinner.

5.  Negattive:
Subject + wasn’t/weren’t + gerund
 Examples:
He wasn’t talking
They weren’t clearing
I wasn’t playing tennis

6.  Question:
Was/Were + subject + gerund + ?
 Examples:
Was he eating soup?
Were they doing their homework?
Were you cooking the dinner?

7. Other uses
a) We use the past continuous for a long action and in the
past was interrupted. The action is constantly interrupted
past and the action that is causing disruption in the past
simple. "When" and "while" point to the use of simple and
past continuous. In general, we use the simple past directly
after "when" and continued past after "while”
Examples:
I was eating when my mum called me.
Anna called while I was watching the news.

8. b) Past continuous is used to talk about
actions at a specific time in the past.
Example:
James wasn't living in Spain in 2005
c) The past continuous for two actions were
happening at the same time used in the
past.
Example:
My daughter was reading while I was
cooking.