Past Continuous Tense

Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense is a verb tense that describes an action which started in the past and was still going on when another event occurred.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the past continuous tense, is defined as “the grammatical form used for an action that someone was doing or an event that was happening at a particular time.”

• I was reading book when he arrived.
• He was sleeping when it rained.
• She was running when she fell. 

How to form the Past Continuous Tense

Subject + was/were + first form of verb + ing.

“Was” is used when subject is singular (he, she, it)

“Were” is used when the subject is plural. (I, we, you, they).

• They were playing cricket.
• He was drinking water.
• She was eating Mangoes.

Negative Form

To create a negative past continuous sentence following formula is used

Subject + was/were + not + first form of verb + ing. 

• They were not playing cricket.
• He was not drinking water.
• She was not eating Mangoes. 

Interrogative Form

To create the interrogative sentence following formula is used.

Was/were + subject + first form of verb + ing.

• Were they playing cricket?
• Was he drinking water?
• Was she eating Mangoes? 

Examples Of Simple Past  Continuous Tense

• I was going to school.
• I was not going to school.
• Was I going to school?

 

• They were playing cricket.
• They were not playing cricket.
• Were they playing cricket?

 

• We were going to market.
• We were not going to market.
• Were we going to market?

 

• You were running fast.
• You were not running fast.
• Were you running fast?

 

• She was eating Apple.
• She was not eating Apple.
• Was she eating Apple?