Past Continuous Tense: Definition, Formula, Structure and Examples

I was watching Avengers Endgame. Don’t you want to know if I liked it or not? Learn how to speak about a movie that you watched, a person you met or a place that you visited using the past continuous tense. You can give your reader or listener a feeling of how the action or event was progressing at that time in the past. In this article, you will learn about the meaning, definition, formula and structure of the past continuous tense along with examples that will definitely let you use the tense effectively.

Table of Contents

• What Is the Past Continuous Tense?
  • Definition of the Past Continuous Tense
• Formula and Structure of the Past Continuous Tense
• Using the Past Continuous Tense – Points to Remember
• Uses of the Past Continuous Tense
• 30 Sentence Examples of Past Continuous Tense
• Examples of the Past Continuous Tense
• Check Your Understanding of the Past Continuous Tense
• Frequently Asked Questions on the Past Continuous Tense

What Is the Past Continuous Tense?

The past continuous tense is employed in a sentence to represent an action or event that was going on in the past. In other words, it shows the progress of the action or event at a specific time in the past. The past continuous tense is, therefore, also called the ‘past progressive tense’. Take a look at how different dictionaries define the past continuous tense so that you can develop a clear idea of what it is.

Definition of the Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is defined as “the grammatical form used for an action that someone was doing or an event that was happening at a particular time.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines the past continuous tense as “the tense used to talk about actions or behaviour that were begun and ended at some time in the past”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, it is defined as “a verb form consisting of an auxiliary be in the past tense followed by a present participle and used esp. to indicate that an action or event was incomplete or in progress at a point of reference in the past, as ‘was sleeping’ in I was sleeping when the phone rang.”

Formula and Structure of the Past Continuous Tense

Conjugating a verb in the past continuous tense can be made easier if you know and understand its formula and structure.

Here is the formula with which you can structure a sentence in the past continuous tense.

Now, learn how to write a positive, negative, interrogative and negative interrogative sentence by looking at the following table and examples given.

Using the Past Continuous Tense – Points to Remember

Knowing how to structure the verb in the past continuous tense can make your task easy. A verb, when used in the past continuous tense, always takes a helping verb (was or were) and a main verb. The helping verb is followed by the main verb, which happens to be in the present participle form (gerund form – base verb +ing). The sentence should start with a subject when it is a positive or negative sentence. When the tense is used in an interrogative or negative interrogative sentence, it should start with the helping verb, followed by the subject and the main verb.

Uses of the Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense can be put to use when,

• You want to convey parallel or simultaneous actions.

For example:

• Mercy was studying while her mom was cooking breakfast.
• She wasn’t listening properly when I was speaking.
• You want to speak about an overlapping action.

For example:

• I was watering the plants when my brother came home.
• When Joe was playing cricket, he sprained his ankle.
• You want to indicate an action at an overlapping time.

For example:

• At five o’clock, I was studying for the Maths exam.
• Yesterday, she was waiting for me in the evening.
• You want to emphasise an action or event that was taking place at some point in the past.

For example:

• He was working on his project all day.
• My mom was looking for these keys the whole day.
• You want to give details about the background of a story.

For example:

• When she woke up, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the wind was swirling.
• The children were playing cricket, and the parents were watching happily.

Examples of the Past Continuous Tense

Now, take a look at a few more examples to enrich your knowledge of past continuous tense.

• The band was playing The Best of Me.
• I was not preparing for the test though I was scared.
• Were you not sleeping yesterday when I came home?
• I was thinking about meeting you.
• Brendon was talking to his class teacher when we were leaving home.
• The whole gang was laughing at the boy who tripped and fell down.
• My cousin was watching the new series that was released yesterday.
• My friends were waiting for me the whole day.
• The children were shouting when the teacher entered the class.
• Even at midnight, we were sitting on the balcony and talking.

30 Sentence Examples of Past Continuous Tense

Now, take a look at a few more examples to enrich your knowledge of past continuous tense.

• The band was playing The Best of Me. 
• I was not preparing for the test though I was scared. 
• Were you not sleeping yesterday when I came home?
• I was thinking about meeting you.
• Brendon was talking to his class teacher when we were leaving home.
• The whole gang was laughing at the boy who tripped and fell down. 
• My cousin was watching the new series that was released yesterday. 
• My friends were waiting for me the whole day. 
• The children were shouting when the teacher entered the class.
• Even at midnight, we were sitting on the balcony and talking. 
• It was snowing yesterday.
• They were eating at the restaurant.
• You were working yesterday.
• I was studying last night.
• I was waiting for the cab when I met Raj.
• The children were shouting when the teacher came in.
• It was midnight when it was raining.
• Everyone was clapping.
• Raj was practising the guitar after classes.
• The baby was laughing when I came into the room.
• The children were playing in the garden.
• The girls were dancing as the music played.
• The child was eating an apple.
• Trina was going to the library.
• The dog was barking in the night.
• The students were not studying for the test.
• The armies were going to war.
• My mother was baking a cake for me.
• The birds were chirping in the sky.
• The kite was flying in the sky.

Check Your Understanding of the Past Continuous Tense

Fill in the blanks with the right form of the past continuous tense using the verbs given in the brackets.

1. Oshin _________ (prepare) dinner.

2. ______ he _________ (drive – negative) the car?

3. I ___________ (watch) TV when my mom came.

4. Sheela __________ (play) the lead role in the skit.

5. Yesterday, we _____________ (clean) the house when the guests arrived.

6. She ______________ (do – negative) what the teacher had asked her to do.

7. _______ you ________ (feel – negative) good yesterday?

8. I _________ (plan) to dance at my cousin’s wedding.

9. The train __________ (run) late by an hour.

10. We ___________ (go) to buy new clothes for all of us.

Find out if you answered it all correctly from the answers given below.

1. Oshin was preparing dinner.

2. Wasn’t he driving the car?

3. I was watching TV when my mom came.

4. Sheela was playing the lead role in the skit.

5. Yesterday, we were cleaning the house when the guests arrived.

6. She was not doing what the teacher had asked her to do.

7. Were you not feeling good yesterday?

8. I was planning to dance at my cousin’s wedding.

9. The train was running late by an hour.

10. We were going to buy new clothes for all of us.