Past continuous or past progressive in English is a verb tense that is used to show that a continuous action took place at a particular moment in the past. It can also be used to show that one past action was interrupted by another action.
With its help, we show that two long-term current actions occurred simultaneously in the past. Learn more about the cases and features of using the past long tense in English in the article below. Enjoy reading! Let's start speaking English!
Past Continuous Forms: Past Continuous
The formation of the Past Continuous is painfully reminiscent of the formulation of another progressive tense in English. Guess what? Of course, Present Continuous (present continuous)!
As in Present, the past long tense in English is formed by combining the auxiliary verb to be and the participle. The only feature: the verb to be takes the form of Simple Past. Thus, after the singular subject, we use the form was, for plural subjects - were. And, of course, do not forget the -ing verb or the so-called present participle. Let's look at some examples of the past long tense in English.
- Student was stydying.
- Students were studying.
Translation:
- Student studied.
- Students studied.
denials and questions
Now let's move on to negative and interrogative sentences in the past continuous tense in English. Everything here is extremely simple and, as they say, according to the canon. The former are formed by the negative particle not, which takes the position after the auxiliary verb was/were.
- Student was not studying.
- Students were not studying.
Translation:
- Student did not study.
- Students didn't study.
Also, don't forget about the so-called contractions, or abbreviations used in everyday English speech and informal writing: was not takes the form wasn't, were not → weren't.
When it comes to interrogative sentences, everyone's favorite inversion takes place: the auxiliary verb takes a position before the subject. That's all. It remains only to put a question mark at the end of the sentence and change the intonation. If the question is special, that is, it begins with the words what, why, when, and so on, the auxiliary verb is placed after the interrogative word and between the subject. Examples:
- Were students studying?
- What was student studying?
Translation:
- Students studied?
- What did the student learn?
What are the main uses of this tense?
Past Continuous in English: Usage Rules
If you try to generalize, then Past Continuous is used, first of all, to describe actions or events that began in the past and are still happening during speech (the moment of speech is also the past). In other words, with the help of this grammatical tense, we express an unfinished or unfinished action in the past.
- They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
- Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
- When we arrived he was having a bath.
- When the fire started I was watching television.
Translation:
- They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
- Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
- He was taking a bath when we arrived.
- I was watching TV when the fire started.
Past Continuous Tense is most commonly used to describe the background of a story written in the past tense. For example, here is an exercise for the past long tense in English. howwe will translate the following passage from the book using the Past Continuous Tense: “The sun was shining and the birds were chirping when the elephant came out of the jungle. Other animals rested in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly. She was trying to find her child, and she paid no attention to the hunter who was watching her through binoculars. When the shot rang out, she ran to the river.” Find a possible translation of the passage at the end of the article.
It can also be used to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action in the past. For example, "I was sleeping soundly when the alarm rang."
I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rank.
One possible use of this time is to convey a change of mind. For example, "I was going to spend the day at the beach, but instead I decided to do my homework."
I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to get my homework done instead.
The Past Continious verb to wonder is a polite request.
I was wondering if you could baby-sit for me tonight.
Translation: “I was wondering if you could babysit for me today.”
Function 1: Interrupted action in the past
Use Past Continuous to indicate that one action in the past, usually longer, was interrupted. The interrupting action is usually shorter and expressed in the Past Simple.
Remember that this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time. For example:
- I was watching TV when she called.
- When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
- While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
- What were you doing when the earthquake started?
- I was listening to music, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
- You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
- While Alex was sleeping last night, someone broke his car.
- Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
- While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
Translation:
- I was watching TV when she called.
- She was writing a letter when the phone rang.
- While we were having a picnic, it started to rain.
- What were you doing when the earthquake started?
- I was listening to music so I didn't hear the fire alarm siren.
- You didn't listen to me when I told you to turn off the oven.
- While Alex was sleeping last night, someone crashed his car.
- Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
- While I was writing a letter, the computer suddenly turned off.
When one event in the past is more important than another, we can use Past Continuous for the background event (less important) and Past Simple for the main event.
Function 2: Parallel actions in the past
If you use the Past Continuous for multiple actions in the same sentence,you express the idea that both actions happened at the same time: they are parallel.
- I was studying while he was making dinner.
- While Kris was cooking, Harry was reading newspaper.
- Were you listening while he was talking?
- I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
- What were you doing while you were waiting?
- Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
- They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
Translation:
- I studied while he cooked dinner.
- While Chris was cooking, Harry was reading the newspaper.
- Did you listen while he spoke?
- I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made some mistakes.
- What were you doing while you were waiting?
- Thomas didn't work and neither did I.
- They were having lunch, discussing their plans and having a good time.
We often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a specific time in the past. “When I walked into the office, someone was busy typing, someone was talking on the phone, the boss was giving directions, and customers were waiting for help. One of the clients was sorting things out with the secretary and waving his arms furiously. Some customers complained to each other about poor service.”
When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving hishands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.
Function 3: Repetitive, annoying activities
With adverbs such as always (always), forever (forever) and constantly (constantly), the past progressive expresses the idea that something annoying or shocking often happened in the past.
Most often we use this construction to express negative emotions, but it is also suitable for conveying information about a habit from the past that is not relevant now.
- She was always coming to class late.
- He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
- I didn't like them because they were always complaining.
Translation:
- She was always late for class.
- He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
- I didn't like them because they were always complaining.
Most importantly, do not forget to put always or constanly between the auxiliary and -ing verbs - this is the standard position of adverbs in a sentence that uses the Past Continuous.
Function 4: Emphasis
The past continuous can be used to emphasize that something has been going on for a while. This usage is often optional, and we usually use it with time expressions like all day or all evening or for hours. For example:
- I was working in the garden all day.
- He wasreading all evening.
Translation:
- I've been gardening all day.
- He read all evening.
Such a grammatical construction emphasizes that the event lasted for a certain time period in the past.
Note: using while and when
In English, some of the subordinate sentences expressing time begin with words such as when (when) and while (when, while). For example, when she called (“when she called”) or while she was sleeping (“while she was sleeping”).
When we talk about actions in the past, when is most often followed by a Past Simple verb, while while should be followed by a Past Continuous verb. While expresses the idea of "for some time". Study the examples below: they have similar meanings but emphasize different parts of the sentence.
- I was studying when she called.
- While I was studying, she called.
Translation:
- I was studying when she called.
- While I was studying, she called.
What other features should I be aware of?
Non-continuous verbs, or verbs that cannot be used in a long tense
It is important to remember that some verbs cannot be used in the continuous tense.
Also, some of them may havedifferent value depending on the time used. Pay attention to the following examples:
- Jane was being at my house when you arrived. False
- Jane was at my house when you arrived. Right
Translation: "Jane was at my house when you arrived."
Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous
Let's try to figure out how the past perfect continuous tense in English differs from the tense that we have already considered? If you do not take into account the grammatical construction of Past Perfect Continuous, this tense is primarily used to express longer actions or situations that continued up to a certain point in the past.
By that time I had been studying in London for three years.
Translation: “By that time I had been studying in London for three years.”
The fact is that the Past Continuous simply shows continuity. The past completed continuous tense in English also emphasizes the idea of duration. It is mainly used to indicate the duration of an action or state in the past. Compare:
- When I found Susie, I could see that she had been crying.
- When I found Susie, she was crying.
Translation:
- When I met Susie, you could see her crying (for a while).
- When I met Susie, she was crying (continued past action interrupted by another past action).
Remember the translation exercise? One of the options is presentedbelow.
The sun was shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The other animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly. She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was watching her through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running towards the river…
Good luck learning the material! May the force be with you.
