Past continuous

• 4 Past continuous

  4.1

  Structure (was / were + V-ing)

  

  

  The past continuous tense describes an action in progress at a specific moment in the past.

  Structure: 主语 + was / were + 动词-ing(I / he / she / it → was; you / we / they → were)

  在At 八点eight 我I （过去进行）was 做饭cooking.

  I was cooking at eight o'clock.

  他们They （过去进行）were 看watching 电视TV.

  They were watching TV at that time.

  Note

  • Don't mix up was and were: Use was for I / he / she / it; use were for you / we / they.
  • Negative: wasn't / weren't + V-ing. Question: Was / Were + subject + V-ing?

  4.2

  when and while

  The past continuous is often used with the simple past to describe "an ongoing action interrupted by another event".

  • while + past continuous (the longer background action).
  • when + simple past (the sudden, short action).

  当...时While 我I （过去进行）was 睡觉sleeping （冠词）, the 电话phone 响了rang.

  The phone rang while I was sleeping.

  她She （过去进行）was 做饭cooking 当...时when 我I 到达arrived.

  When I arrived, she was cooking.

  Compare the two tenses:

  • The ongoing background action → Past continuous (was cooking).
  • The short action that interrupts it → Simple past (arrived).

  Note

  • Two long actions happening simultaneously both use the past continuous: While I was reading, she was writing (I was reading, and she was writing).
  • 'when' can also be followed by the past continuous, but the meaning changes. Beginners should first memorize the common collocations mentioned above.

  Common Errors

  • ❌ ~~I was watch TV when he called.~~ → ✓ I was watching TV when he called. — After was / were, you must use the -ing form.
  • ❌ ~~They was playing games.~~ → ✓ They were playing games. — Use were for you / we / they.
  • ❌ ~~When I was arriving, she was cooking.~~ → ✓ When I arrived, she was cooking. — Arriving is a brief, instantaneous action, so use the simple past; only the longer background action uses the continuous form.
  • ❌ ~~I was knowing the answer.~~ → ✓ I knew the answer. — Stative verbs (know, like, want) are also generally not used in the continuous form in the past tense.

All topics · English Grammar · A2