Introduction
Past Continuous Tense indicates continuity of an action or event that was going on in the past.
It is also called ‘Past Progressive Tense’ as it highlights the actions or behaviour that started and ended at some time in the past.
The present and past continuous are very similar; the only difference between them is an auxiliary verb.
Structure of the Past Continuous Tense
| Subject + was/were + present participle (verb+ing) + the rest of the sentence |
In the table given below, the structure of the past continuous tense as per the type of sentences
| Types of sentence | Rule | Examples |
| Positive | Subject + was/were + present participle (verb+ing) + the rest of the sentence | 1. I was writing a book. 2. They were playing in the garden. 3. It was a sunny day. |
| Negative | Subject + was/were + not + present participle (verb+ing) + the rest of the sentence | 1. I was not writing a book. 2. They were not playing in the garden. 3. It was not a sunny day. |
| Interrogative | Was/were + subject + present participle (verb+ing) + the rest of the sentence with? | 1. Was I writing a book? 2. Were they playing in the garden? 3. Was it a sunny day? |
| Negative Interrogative | Wasn’t/weren’t + subject + present participle (verb+ing) + the rest of the sentence (Or) Was/were + subject + not + present participle (verb+ing) + the rest of the sentence | 1. Was I not writing a book? 2. Weren’t they playing in the garden? 3. Wasn’t it a sunny day? |
Application of the Past Continuous Tense
The Past Continuous Tense is majorly used in five scenarios. In the table below, each scenario is explained well with an example:
| Scenarios | Examples |
| To convey parallel or simultaneous actions | 1. Mary was studying while her twin sister was sleeping. 2. She wasn’t listening properly when teacher was explaining. 3. They were running on the ground while it was raining heavily. |
| To mention about an overlapping action | 1. I was cooking dinner when my husband came home. 2. When he was riding a bicycle, he got hurt. 3. They were working in the factory when the accident happened. |
| To highlight about an action happened at a specific time | 1. At five o’clock in the morning, I was packing my luggage. 2. Yesterday, she was reading loudly at night. 3. Last night, they were dancing till 2 AM. |
| To mention any action or condition happened in the past | 1. He was working for his presentation all day. 2. My teacher was looking for her dog the whole day. 3. We were singing carols in the church all night. |
| To share details about the background of a story | 1. Last night the star was twinkling bright, the dogs were barking, and the breeze was swirling. 2. The players were playing on ground, and the coaches were from the panel. 3. When we went mall, Meena was shopping for her birthday and Rahul was enjoying in the GameZone. |
Commonly made mistakes in Past Continuous Tense
1. Always use was/were with ‘ing’ form of verb to denote past continuous tense.
For Example:
A. They were ate dinner at 8 PM. (incorrect)
B. They were eating dinner at 8 PM. (correct)
2. Using ‘did’ instead of ‘was/were’
For Example:
A. He did going to the market. (incorrect)
B. He was going to the market. (correct)
3. Using past continuous tense for ongoing action as well as for the interrupted action
For Example:
A. I was studying when the phone was ringing. (incorrect)
B. I was studying when the phone rang. (correct)
4. Use of stative verbs in past continuous tense
For Example:
A. She was trusting the wrong person. (incorrect)
B. She trusted the wrong person. (correct)
Verbs that are not used in the past continuous tense
There are certain type of verb that cannot be used in any continuous tense, including the past continuous tense. Such type of verbs are known as stative verbs or non-continuous verbs.
More than an action, they are like states or feelings which describe continual states of mind, such as opinions, needs, or awareness. Below is the list of commonly used stative verbs:
Difference between Past Continuous Tense and Simple Past Tense
While both past simple and past continuous are used to express actions in the past, the only difference between them is status of the action they describe.
The past simple refers to an action that is completed in the past whereas in past continuous the action that was in progress at the time of speaking.