Positive Statements
S + was / were + action (+ -ing) ...
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | I was working .. | we were working .. |
| 2nd person | you were working .. | you were working .. |
| 3rd person | he/she/it was working .. | they were working .. |
Negative Statements
S + wasn't / weren't + action (+ -ing) ...
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | I wasn't working .. | we weren't working .. |
| 2nd person | you weren't working .. | you weren't working .. |
| 3rd person | he/she/it wasn't working .. | they weren't working .. |
Questions
(Wh-) was / were + S + action (+ -ing) ...?
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | was I working .. ? | were we working .. ? |
| 2nd person | were you working .. ? | were you working .. ? |
| 3rd person | was he/she/it working .. ? | were they working .. ? |
Actions Happening at some time in the Past
DURATION
When we want to talk about an action that was happening over a period of time in the past, we use the past continuous tense.
E.g.:
* At this time last week I was lying on the beach in Florida.
* I had my car fixed because it wasn't working properly.
* What were you doing yesterday at 8 o'clock?
INTERRUPTED ACTION
The past continuous is very often used with the past simple to say that something happened in the middle of something else. In this case, the single event (past simple) interrupted the longer action (past continuous).
E.g.:
* What were you doing when the lights went off last night?
* When I went to bed last night the sun was already beginning to rise.
* It was lucky we weren't sitting under that tree when the lighting hit.
PARALLEL ACTIONS
We use the Past Continuous to talk about two actions happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.
E.g.:
* While she was preparing dinner, he was washing the dishes.
* Were you listening while he was talking?
* He wasn't paying attention while I was explaining.
We use when and while to talk about two actions in the past.
E.g. I was sleeping when the teacher finished the lesson.
I was snoring while the teacher was explaing the lesson.
What´s the difference between when and while?
we usually use when one of the actions is long and the other is short. When is most often followed by the Simple Past.
E.g.: I was studying when she called.
When I arrived my father was sleeping on the sofa.
We usually use while when we express the idea of an action during that time. We also use while when there are two long actions happening at the same time. While is always followed by the Past Continuos.
E.g.: While I was studying, my mother was preparing dinner.
While I was studying, she called.
Non-continuous Verbs
Non-continuous verbs are actions that you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses. They include.
Abstract Verbs: be, want, cost, seem, need, care, contain, owe, exist, etc.
Possession Verbs: possess, own, belong...
Emotion Verbs: like, love, hate, dislike, fear, envy, mind...
E.g.:
- Jane was being at my house when you arrived. Not Correct
- Jane was at my house when you arrived. Correct
Adverbs such as always, only, never, still, just, among others are usually placed between was/were and the action with -ing.
E.g.:
- You were just studying when she callled.
- Were you just studying when she called?
Click on the folling links to practise PAST CONTINUOS:
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