What is the Past Continuous Tense?
The past continuous (also called the past progressive) describes an action that was already in progress at a specific moment in the past. Unlike the past simple — which records a completed event — the past continuous focuses on the ongoing, unfinished nature of an action.
Think of it as a camera shot: the past simple takes a still photo of a completed event, while the past continuous records a scene that was already playing when you pressed the shutter.
How to Form It
Use was with singular subjects (I, he, she, it) and were with plural subjects (you, we, they). Add -ing to the base verb.
Subject + was / were + verb‑ingPositive
| Subject | Auxiliary | Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | was | reading | I was reading a book. |
| He / She / It | was | sleeping | She was sleeping on the sofa. |
| You / We / They | were | waiting | They were waiting at the bus stop. |
Negative
Add not after the auxiliary (was not / were not, contracted as wasn't / weren't).
| Subject | Auxiliary + not | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I / He / She / It | wasn't | He wasn't listening to the teacher. |
| You / We / They | weren't | We weren't expecting that news. |
Question
Invert the subject and auxiliary to form a question.
| Auxiliary | Subject | Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was | she | cooking? | Was she cooking dinner? |
| Were | you | working? | Were you working late? |
| What were | they | doing? | What were they doing? |
When to Use the Past Continuous Tense
Action in progress at a specific past time
Use the past continuous when you want to say what was happening at an exact moment in the past. The action started before that moment and may have continued after it.
- At 9 p.m. yesterday, I was watching a film.
- She was working in the garden all morning.
- The children were still sleeping when we arrived.
Interrupted action — when & while
This is one of the most common patterns. A longer, ongoing action (past continuous) is interrupted by a shorter, sudden event (past simple). The two clauses are joined by when or while.
- I was reading a book when the phone rang.
- While she was cooking dinner, the smoke alarm went off.
- We were driving to the airport when we got a flat tyre.
Two parallel ongoing actions
Use the past continuous for two actions that were happening at the same time. Both actions were in progress simultaneously.
- While she was talking on the phone, I was making coffee.
- He was reading the newspaper while his wife was watching TV.
Background setting in a story
In written and spoken narrative, the past continuous sets the scene — it describes what was happening around the main events (which are told in the past simple).
- It was raining heavily. People were running for cover. Suddenly, someone shouted.
- The sun was setting and birds were singing in the trees when he finally arrived.
Time Expressions
Past Continuous vs Past Simple
Choosing between the two tenses is one of the most important decisions at B1 level. The key difference is completeness: the past simple views an action as a finished whole; the past continuous views it as ongoing.
Past Continuous
I was reading when you called.
The reading was in progress. It probably continued after the call.
Past Simple
I read for two hours yesterday.
The reading is complete. Two hours = a finished, bounded period.
Past Continuous
She was cooking dinner when I arrived.
Dinner was not finished. Cooking = the background event.
Past Simple
She cooked dinner and we ate together.
Dinner was completed. Both actions are sequential and finished.
The past simple is preferred when a duration expression (for two hours, all day) shows the action as a completed unit of time.
Stative Verbs — Do Not Use the Continuous
Stative verbs describe states, not actions — things like beliefs, emotions, possession, and perception. These verbs are not normally used in any continuous form, including the past continuous.
Incorrect
✗ I was knowing the answer when she asked me.
✓ I knew the answer when she asked me.
Know, believe, want, like, need, own, understand, hate, love — these are stative verbs. Use the past simple for them.
- know / understand / believe / think (= opinion) — mental states
- like / love / hate / prefer / want / need — emotions & desires
- own / have (= possess) / belong to — possession
- seem / appear / look (= seem) — appearances
Common Mistakes
Wrong auxiliary for the subject
✗ They was watching TV when I came in.
✓ They were watching TV when I came in.
Was is for I / he / she / it. Were is for you / we / they.
Using past simple instead of past continuous for the background
✗ I read a book when you called. (if the reading was in progress)
✓ I was reading a book when you called.
When the reading was already in progress before the call, use the past continuous to express that ongoing nature.
Past continuous for a quick sequence of events
✗ He was entering the room, was sitting down, and was opening his laptop.
✓ He entered the room, sat down, and opened his laptop.
For a sequence of short, completed actions, use the past simple. Reserve the past continuous for genuinely ongoing background events.
Ready to practise?
Put it into practice
Test your understanding with interactive exercises and instant feedback.