Past continuous tense in English with past continuous examples. Learn the definition and how to form the past continuous tense in English with useful examples and ESL infographics.
Contents
Past Continuous Tense
Past Continuous Definition
In the Past Continuous tense, the action was ongoing till a certain time in the past. This tense is used to talk about an action at a particular time in the past.
Forming the Past Continuous Tense
Positive Statements | Past Continuous
SUBJECT | WAS / WERE | VERB + ing | REST OF THE SENTENCE |
I | was | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
You | were | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
He | was | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
Tom | was | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
The boy | was | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
She | was | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
Anna | was | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
The girl | was | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
We | were | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
You | were | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
They | were | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
The children | were | sleeping | at 11 p.m. last night. |
For making positive statements in the past continuous tense, notice how we use:
- ‘was’ for the subjects ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’ and ‘were’ for the subjects ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
- And the verb +ing all subjects.
Negative Statements | Past Continuous
SUBJECT | WAS NOT/ WERE NOT | VERB + ing | REST OF THE SENTENCE |
I | was not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
You | were not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
He | was not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
Tom | was not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
The boy | was not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
She | was not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
Anna | was not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
The girl | was not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
We | were not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
You | were not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
They | were not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
The men | were not | listening | to music at 4 p.m. yesterday. |
For making negative statements in the past continuous tense, notice how we use:
- ‘was not’ for the subjects ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’ and ‘were not’ for the subjects ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
- And the verb +ing all subjects.
Interrogative Statements / Questions | Past Continuous
WAS / WERE | SUBJECT | VERB (in base form) | REST OF THE SENTENCE |
Was | I | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Were | you | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Was | he | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Was | Tom | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Was | the boy | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Was | she | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Was | Anna | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Was | the girl | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Were | we | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Were | you | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Were | they | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
Were | the men | eating | breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday? |
For asking questions in the past continuous tense, notice how we use:
- ‘was ’ for the subjects ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’ and ‘were ’ for the subjects ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
- And the verb +ing all subjects.
oof
Una mierda pa ti
this is not enough ..
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