Past Continuous Tense
Past Continuous Tense
In the Past Continuous tense, the action was ongoing till a
certain time in the past. This tense is used to talk about an action at a
particular time in the past.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
|
WAS / WERE
|
VERB + ing
|
REST OF THE SENTENCE
|
I
|
was
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
You
|
were
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
He
|
was
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
Mohan
|
was
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
The boy
|
was
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
She
|
was
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
Pooja
|
was
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
The girl
|
was
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
We
|
were
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
You
|
were
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
They
|
were
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
The children
|
were
|
sleeping
|
at 11 p.m. last night.
|
For making positive statements in the past continuous tense,
notice how we use
‘was’ for the subjects ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’ and ‘were’ for the
subjects ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
And the verb +ing all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
|
WAS NOT/ WERE NOT
|
VERB + ing
|
REST OF THE SENTENCE
|
I
|
was not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
You
|
were not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
He
|
was not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
Mohan
|
was not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
The boy
|
was not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
She
|
was not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
Pooja
|
was not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
The girl
|
was not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
We
|
were not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
You
|
were not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
They
|
were not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
The men
|
were not
|
listening
|
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
|
For making negative statements in the past continuous tense,
notice how we use
‘was not’ for the subjects ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’ and ‘were not’
for the subjects ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
And the verb +ing all subjects.
INTERROGATIVE STATEMENTS / QUESTIONS
WAS / WERE
|
SUBJECT
|
VERB (in base form)
|
REST OF THE SENTENCE
|
Was
|
I
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Were
|
you
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Was
|
he
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Was
|
Mohan
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Was
|
the boy
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Was
|
she
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Was
|
Pooja
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Was
|
the girl
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Were
|
we
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Were
|
you
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Were
|
they
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
Were
|
the men
|
eating
|
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
|
For asking questions in the past continuous tense, notice how we
use
‘was ’ for the subjects ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’ and ‘were ’ for the
subjects ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
And the verb +ing all subjects.
What is Past Continuous Tense?
PAST CONTINUOUS
- I saw
you were waiting for the train this morning.
- Last
week this time, I was driving a car.
-
Yesterday evening, they were playing tennis.
Positive
Sentence:
Subject + was/were
+ verb-ing + object/complement
|
- I was
reading my lesson at 9
o’clock last night.
- They
were doing exercise this morning.
- Sophy
was writing a letter to her friend at 10
a.m.
Sub + was/were +
not + verb-ing + obj/comp
|
-
Yesterday morning, I was not cleaning my clothes.
- Last
night this time, Dany was not sleeping.
- You
were not doing your homework at 8
o’clock last night.
Was/Were + sub +
verb-ing + obj/comp ?
|
- Where
were you going yesterday morning?
- Were
you watching TV this evening?
- What
were you doing at 11
o’clock this
afternoon?
Related page
What is Tense? Definition of Tense.
What is the type of tense?
What Is the Past Tense?
What Is the Present Tense?
What is the Future Tense?
Structure of All Tense
Simple Present Tense
Present Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Simple Past Tense
Past Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Simple Future Tense
Future Continuous Tense
Future Perfect Tense
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
All Tense with example
Table of English Tenses with example
TENSE CHART
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