We use the past progressive tense (also called the past continuous tense) to express a situation or action that was in progress at some point in the past.
Form: subject + was/were + verb-ing
- I was running.
- You were swimming.
- He was playing.
We use the past progressive tense to express an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past.
- At 1 p.m., I was eating lunch.
- At midnight, we were still searching for him.
- What were you doing this time last night?
We use the past progressive tense to express an action that was in progress when another action took place. And we use “when” with past simple and “while” with past continuous.
- It was raining when he left for school.
- When you called me, I was walking in the park.
- The power went out while we were watching TV.
- While I was waiting for the bus, I bought a sandwich.
We use “always and constantly” to express a past repeated action or behavior that is annoying or causes problems.
- She was always trying to learn something.
- John was constantly getting into trouble.
- They were always complaining.
- Jane was constantly changing her mind.
Affirmatives, Negatives, and interrogative forms
| Affirmative | Negative | Question |
| I was walking. | I wasn’t walking. | Was I walking? |
| You were sleeping. | You weren’t sleeping. | Were you sleeping? |
| He was running. | He wasn’t running. | Was he running? |
| She was dancing. | She wasn’t dancing. | Was she dancing? |
| It was drinking. | It wasn’t drinking. | Was it drinking? |
| We were playing. | We weren’t playing. | Were we playing? |
| They were fighting. | They weren’t fighting. | Were they fighting? |
We can use question words (who, what, when, where, why, how) before the helping verb (was/were) in interrogative sentences.
- Where were you going?
- What was he drinking?
- How was she dancing?
- When were they fighting?
For verbs that end in “e”, we take out the “e” and add “ing” to make them continuous.
- I was taking a shower. [take]
- Jim was writing a letter. [write]
- She was baking some bread. [bake]
Past Progressive, envocabulary.com
