Past continuous
The past continuous (also called past progressive) is one of the continuous verb forms in English. (The continuous forms are: present continuous, past continuous, and future continuous). The past continuous tense mainly describes actions that are in progress at a particular time in the past time frame. [1] [2]
Forms[change | change source]
Affirmative sentences[change | change source]
Affirmative sentences in the past continuous are formed using verb be (was / were) + base verb -ing. [3]
- I was eating.
- She was eating.
- He was eating.
- It was eating.
- We were eating.
- You were eating.
- They were eating.
Negative sentences[change | change source]
Negative sentences are formed by adding not (or the short form n't) to the past tense of the verb be.
- I was not eating.
- She wasn't eating.
- He was not eating.
- It was not eating.
- We weren't eating.
- You were not eating.
- They weren't eating.
Questions[change | change source]
Yes/no question are formed using the past form of the verb be (was / were) + subject + base verb-ing.
Wh-questions begin with one of the wh-question words. (Wh-question words are: what, where, when, why, who, which, whose, how.)
- Was I eating your pizza?
- Were you having fun?
- Was she sleeping?
- Was it raining outside?
- Why was she crying?
- When were they coming?
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Past Continuous Tense | Ginseng English | Learn English". Ginseng English. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ↑ "Past Continuous Tense: Rules And Examples". Thesaurus.com. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ↑ "Past Continuous Tense | ENGLISH PAGE". www.englishpage.com. Retrieved 2022-06-04.