Past continuous

The past continuous = was / were + -ing. Was goes with I / he / she / it, were with you / we / they. Add -ing the same way as in the present continuous (see the lesson “Present continuous”).

Wh- questions: What were you doing? Who was she talking to? Short answers: Yes, I was. / No, they weren't.

1. An action in progress at a moment in the past — it had started before that moment and wasn't finished. Often with at 9 o'clock last night, at this time yesterday.

• At nine last night, I was watching a football match.

• What were you doing at this time yesterday?

2. Setting the scene at the start of a story

• It was raining, and people were hurrying home.

• The sun was shining and the kids were playing on the beach.

3. Two longer actions happening at the same time — often joined with while

• While I was cooking, my husband was setting the table.

• Lan was studying while her brother was playing games.

💡Think of the past continuous as “in the middle of” something at a past moment: at nine last night I was in the middle of a football match = I was watching football. The past simple is for the whole, finished action.

The two tenses often work together in one sentence: the past continuous for the longer action in progress, the past simple for the short action that interrupts it.

• I was having a shower when the phone rang.

• We were driving home when we saw the accident.

• When I arrived, they were eating dinner.

Changing the tense changes the meaning:

For actions that happen one after another, use the past simple for all of them: She got up, had breakfast and left.

• while + the longer action (usually past continuous): While I was walking home, it started to rain.
• when + the short action (usually past simple): I was walking home when it started to rain.
• When can also go with the longer action (When I was walking home, …), but while usually goes with something that lasts; for an action that happens in a moment, use when: “when I opened the door”, not “while I opened the door”.
• When the when / while clause comes first, use a comma: While she was sleeping, someone called. When it comes second, you usually don't: Someone called while she was sleeping.

While (+ clause) is different from during (+ noun) — see the lesson “During vs while”.

As in the present, state verbs such as know, want, like, need, believe, understand, own are not usually used in the continuous, even about a moment in progress in the past — use the past simple.

• I didn't understand what he was saying.

  not: wasn't understanding

• We wanted to leave, but it was still raining.

• ✗I was cook dinner when you called.

  ✓I was cooking dinner when you called.

  was needs -ing after it.

• ✗They was playing football.

  ✓They were playing football.

  they → were.

• ✗I watched TV when the lights went out.

  ✓I was watching TV when the lights went out.

  The longer, interrupted action → past continuous.

• ✗Were you sleep when I called?

  ✓Were you sleeping when I called?

  was / were + -ing.

• ✗I was knowing the answer.

  ✓I knew the answer.

  know is a state verb → past simple.

• ✗What did you doing at eight last night?

  ✓What were you doing at eight last night?

  The past continuous uses was / were, not did.