Past Continuous Tense – Easy Lesson for Beginners

The Past Continuous tense is used to talk about actions that were happening at a specific moment in the past. It helps us describe longer actions or background situations. This lesson explains the Past Continuous in a simple and clear way for beginners.

🟦 When Do We Use the Past Continuous?

1. An action happening at a specific moment in the past

• I was studying at 8 PM.
• She was cooking when I called her.

2. Two actions happening at the same time in the past

• I was reading while my brother was playing.

3. Background action for a shorter past event

• They were walking to school when it started to rain.

🟦 How to Form the Past Continuous

✔ Affirmative Form

Subject + was/were + verb(+ing)

• I was watching TV.
• They were playing football.
• She was studying English.

✔ Negative Form

Subject + was/were not + verb(+ing)

• I was not (wasn’t) sleeping.
• They were not (weren’t) working.
• He was not (wasn’t) reading.

✔ Question Form

Was/Were + subject + verb(+ing) + … ?

• Was she watching the movie?
• Were you playing outside?
• Was it raining yesterday?

🟦 Signal Words for Past Continuous

• while
• when
• at that moment
• yesterday at…

🟦 Example Paragraph

Yesterday at 6 PM, I was walking to the store. The sun was shining, and people were sitting in the park. While I was walking, I saw my friend. We talked for a few minutes and then I continued my walk.

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🟢 Exercise – Practice the Past Continuous

A. Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Continuous:

1. I ______ (watch) TV when you called.
2. They ______ (play) football at 5 PM.
3. She ______ (not study) last night.
4. We ______ (walk) to school when it started to rain.
5. ______ you ______ (sleep) at 10 PM?

B. Rewrite the sentences in negative:

1. He was reading a book.
2. They were cooking dinner.
3. She was singing.

C. Make questions:

1. You were talking to your friend.
2. They were studying English.
3. He was driving the car.

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