The Past Continuous Tense (also known as ‘Past Progressive Tense’) has a variety of uses to describe past actions. While these uses are slightly different, they have one thing in common:
The Past Continuous is used for LONGER ACTIONS which were happening at a time in the past.
Check out the chart below for the following information about the Past Continuous.
- Form and common uses.
- Key words with examples.
- Common errors.
- Other uses and stative verbs.
When you have practiced, visit the Narrative Tenses page to see how the past tenses work together when telling stories.
Uses
Uses 1, 2 and 3 in the chart above could also be explained simply by repeating what was mentioned at the beginning of this page:
The Past Continuous is used for LONGER ACTIONS which were happening at a time in the past.
We often begin a story with the past continuous to set the scene, this could describe where we were and what we were doing. Read the beginning to a story below:
“I was shopping in the city centre yesterday and I decided to go for a coffee. When I walked into the café my old friend Tom was waiting in the queue.”
The first example, “I was shopping in the city centre”, describes where I was and what I was doing, it sets the scene of the story. The second example of Past Continuous, “Tom was waiting in the queue.”, describes a longer action which is interrupted by a shorter action. See the timeline below:
For used number 2, we could use Past Simple instead of using the Past Continuous twice, for example
“I was cooking dinner while the children were playing”
Could be said as:
“I was cooking dinner while the children played”.
The Most Important Thing…….
when using the Past Continuous is that we avoid the most common mistakes mentioned in the chart by using the correct form, and the correct form of the verb (be), using was or were depending on the subject.
Use the links below to practice the Past Continuous: