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Past Continuous Tense

by learnenglish | Sep 14, 2024 | english tenses, Languages

Past Continuous Tense

The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

Structure: How do we make the tense?
Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

Present Tense
Present Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Tense
Past Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Future Tense
Future Continuous Tense
Future Perfect Tense
Future Perfect Continuous Tense

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Past continuous

We use the past continuous tense (also known as the past progressive) to talk about actions in the past that lasted for some time.

It is formed by using was/were + present participle.

Subject

Simple past tense of

“to be”

Present Participle

I/he/she/it/Maggie

was

talking.

They/we/you/you all

were

talking.

Note: Stative Verbs

Some verbs, called “stative” or “non-continuous” verbs, can’t be used in continuous tenses. Others can be used in continuous tenses, but their meaning changes. Make sure you understand the difference between stative and non-stative verbs while using past continuous and all continuous tenses. You can find more information here.

When to use the Past Continuous Tense

An Interrupted Continuous Action

When one activity in the past is interrupted by another activity, we use past continuous for the original activity and past simple for the interrupting activity.

I was cooking when you called.
John was watching television when the power went off.
I was doing my homework when I realized I was doing the wrong assignment.
You weren’t listening when I told you I had plans tonight.

A Specific Time as an Interruption

You can also use the past continuous when the “interruption” is a specific time. In this case, the original action started before the specific time, and continues after it.

I was still working at 8:00 pm last night.
Elaine was living in Paris this time last year.

Note: If you use the simple past with a specific time, it means that the action started at that time. If you use past continuous, the action is continuing during the specific time.

I ate breakfast at 8:00 am. (Meaning: I started eating breakfast at 8:00 am.)
I was eating breakfast at 8:00 am. (Meaning: At 8:00 am, I was already eating breakfast, and I continued eating it.)

Setting the Background or Atmosphere

In narratives, the past continuous tense often sets the scene or the mood for further events, which happen in the simple past.

When I walked into the daycare, children were running around the hallways and jumping from desk to desk. One little girl was cutting a boy’s hair, and several children were crying loudly while eating birthday cake with their hands. I knew I didn’t want to work there.
Rain clouds were gathering in the sky, and thunder was rumbling to the East. The storm would be here soon, so I closed all the windows.

Two Actions Happening at the Same Time

You can use past continuous to talk about two ongoing actions happening simultaneously.

He was washing dishes and I was drying them.
The kids were playing in the yard while the adults were talking on the front porch.

Annoying or Repeated Actions in the Past, often with “Always”

To emphasize the repetitiveness of an action (and how the repetitiveness annoys you), use the past continuous tense with an adverb of frequency, usually “always.”

Mark was always complaining that he didn’t have a girlfriend.
The little girl was always losing her mittens until her mother sewed them onto the sleeves of her jacket.

Negative Statements

The negative of past continuous is very simple –- just add “not” between the “to be” verb and the present participle:

Amanda wasn’t driving that night.
The kids were not lying when they said they saw a dog on rollerskates.
You weren’t drinking last night, were you?

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. the form is: question word + “was/were” + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence:

??? was riding a horse. –>
Who was riding a horse?
??? people were playing football. –>
How many people were playing football?
???’s child was eating carrot sticks. –>
Whose child was eating carrot sticks?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb, put the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

Were you listening?
Was he talking?
Was Andy playing basketball?

To make an open-ended question about the verb or words after the verb, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

What were you listening to?
Who was he talking to?
Where was Andy playing basketball?

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Past Tense

by learnenglish | Sep 14, 2024 | english tenses, Languages

Simple Past Tense

The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

Structure: How do we make the tense?
Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

Present Tense
Present Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Tense
Past Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Future Tense
Future Continuous Tense
Future Perfect Tense
Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Past simple tense

Have you ever wanted to describe a past situation in English and didn’t know how to do it? The past simple is one of the most used verb tenses in English along with the present simple and present continuous, so it’s important to understand how to use it. Once you know the past simple it’s much easier to have a conversation and communicate clearly to the person you’re talking to.

We use simple past when we talk about actions that happened and were completed in the past. Usually, we make the simple past by adding -ed to a base verb. However, many common verbs are irregular, so they change in different ways.

When to Use the Simple Past Tense

A Completed Action in the Past

If you want to talk about an action that was started and completed at a specific time in the past, use the simple past tense. Even if you don’t mention when the action was completed, you have a specific time in mind; otherwise, you would use the present perfect tense.

Julie wished that she had a million dollars.
I graded essays all afternoon.
You finished dinner already, right?

Multiple Past Actions in a List

When multiple actions were started and completed at specific times in the past, also use simple past tense. Although some events necessarily happen before other events, you don’t need to use the past perfect tense unless you really want to emphasize the fact that something happened before something else, or the sequence is unclear.

John woke up at 6:00, jogged for an hour, and ate breakfast.
I washed the lettuce, chopped it, and added it to the salad.

Narrative

Simple Past is the tense most often used in fiction and when telling a story. Although it’s common to use the past perfect tenses to talk about something that happened before the main events in the story, the main events and the details surrounding them will be in the simple past (or past continuous).

Allen found a table at the cafe and ordered a tall coffee. It was already after midnight, but he was feeling too excited to sleep and didn’t want to try. Just that morning, he had been heartbroken and depressed. But that afternoon, he had met Mona. He pulled out some books and tried to study, but his mind kept drifting away.

The Details of News and Events

When reporting precise details of news and events, use the simple past tense. You can use the present perfect tense when talking about an experience you’ve had:

I’ve been to Quebec.

But you would never use the present perfect tense to add details:

~~I’ve been to Quebec with my French class in high school.~~

Instead, use the simple past tense:

I went to Quebec with my French class in high school. The bus ride took 18 hours. We all stayed with different Quebecois families, and met up every day to tour the city. Most of us were surprised that we could communicate with the locals after just two years of classes.

Past Habits, Generalizations, and Facts

When something was a habit, happened many times, or was a generalization that was formerly true, use simple past tense. This is similar in meaning to sentences with “used to.”

I studied Spanish in high school.
Jane was shy when she was a child, but she isn’t anymore.
Einstein invented the theory of relativity.
Margaret walked home from school every day.
We played checkers every night last summer.

Duration in the Past

You can use simple past to talk about things that happened for a long time, as long as they started and ended at specific times in the past.

East Germany was part of the USSR until the Berlin Wall came down.
We lived in Japan for two years.