What is...?

​Past continuous tense

Is a tense that shows a continuous action, ongoing action, that began and finished in the past. Past continuous tense is similar to Present continuous tense, but in the past we need to use verb to be in the past tense.

​I am studying.

​I was studying.

​Present Continuous

​Past Continuous

How use...?

​Past continuous tense

Structure: subject + aux verb + main verb + complement

Affirm: Noun/Pronoun + Was/Were + verb-ing +...

Neg: Noun/Pronoun + Was/Were + not + verb-ing+...

Int: Was/Were + noun/Pronoun+ verb-ing +...?

​Examples:

• The days were getting shorter as winter approached.

• The days were not getting shorter as winter approached.

• Were the days getting shorter as winter approached?

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

When use...?

​Past continuous tense

​Put the action that was interrupted in the past continuous tense and the action that interrupts it in the simple past.

​​Past that was interrupted

​ When you mention an exact time in the past, use the past continuous tense if the action started before that time and continued afterward.

​​Ongoing actions at a specified time

Action that used to be done frequently in the past but is not done in the present. This form is usually used with adverbs and adverb phrases.

Habitual actions in the past

​Marta was leaving her apartment when she heard the thunderstorm.

​Example

It was eight o'clock when I was writing a letter.

​Example

I was practising every day, three times a day.

​Example

Use the past continuous tense to emphasize how long an action took and highlight just how much time was spent doing it.

Emphasizing how long a past action took

When telling a story (or writing one), you can use the past continuous tense to “set the scene,” or describe exactly what was happening at the beginning of your story.

Setting the background for a story

I was trying to complete the final level for hours.

​​​Example

The birds were singing, and the sun was shining. I knew it would be a good day.

​Example

​Believe

​Dislike

​Hate

​Involve

​Know

​Like

​Love

​Need

​Realize

​Prefer

​Seem

​Understand

​Want

​Cannot use in the Past Continuous
- Stative verbs