Past continuous tense

The past continuous tense (also called the past progressive tense) describes an action or situation that was in progress at a particular time in the past. It is commonly used to describe ongoing past actions, background situations and actions that were interrupted by another event.

How to form the past continuous

The past continuous is formed using the past tense of the auxiliary verb be (was or were) followed by the -ing form of the main verb. The word order changes depending on whether the sentence is affirmative, negative or a question:

Use was with I, he, she and it, and were with you, we and they.

When do we use the past continuous?

There are many ways we can use the past continuous, including:

1. To show an action was in progress at a particular time in the past
2. To show an action in the past was interrupted by another action
3. To show two actions in the past were in progress at the same time
4. To emphasise the duration of a past action
5. To show repeated or temporary actions during a past period
6. To emphasise that past habits were surprising or annoying
7. To set the background scene of another event in the past

1. An action in progress at a particular time in the past

We can use the past continuous to say what action was in progress at a specific time in the past:

• I was still working at midnight last night.
• Helen was jogging yesterday morning.
• They were playing loud music at 7 o’clock in the morning.

2. An action interrupted by another past action

We can also specify the time in the past with a when past time clause, often showing that the action contained in the clause interrupted the action in progress:

• I was taking a shower when you rang.
• When the robbery happened, Colin was washing his car.
• Mark and Jenny were shopping when they heard the news.

3. Two actions in progress at the same time in the past

We can use the past continuous to show that two actions in progress at the same time in the past using while or as past time clauses:

• I was cooking while my wife was taking a bath.
• Tim was cutting the grass as Pippa was doing her homework.
• As I was reading, my wife was watching TV.

4. Emphasising the duration of a past action

We can use the past continuous to emphasise that an action lasted for a length of time. Typically, we use all + time or for + time to show how long the action lasted. This adds more emphasis on the duration than using the simple past:

• I was working on that report all week. (emphasis) / I worked on that report all week. (no emphasis)
• Carla and Tom were arguing for hours. (emphasis) / Carla and Tom argued for hours. (no emphasis)
• My neighbour was playing music all night. (emphasis) / My neighbour played music all night. (no emphasis)

5. Temporary or repeated actions during a past period

We can use the past continuous to describe an action or situation that continued for a temporary period in the past, or an action that was repeated during a limited past period:

• I was travelling to London a lot in those days.
• Mark was working in Sheffield last month.
• They were having meetings every day last week.

When we describe a fixed number of completed actions rather than an activity or pattern continuing over a period, we normally use the past simple:

• I called you five times last night.
• He drank cups of coffee yesterday.
• They sent 20 emails last week.

6. Repeated past behaviour that was surprising or annoying

We can use the past continuous with adverbs such as always, constantly and continually to emphasise repeated past behaviour, especially when the speaker finds it surprising, annoying or otherwise noteworthy:

• He was always getting into trouble at school.
• My grandfather was always telling us war stories.
• They were constantly arguing with each other when they first got married.

To describe a neutral general habit in the past, we normally use the past simple or used to instead:

• I used to play the violin at school. / I played the violin at school.
• She used to speak French when she was younger. / She spoke French when she was younger.
• We used to dance the tango in our teenage years. / We danced the tango in our teenage years.

7. Background information in a past narrative

The past continuous can be used as a narrative tense to set the scene for another more important action (this latter action is the real focus of the scene/sentence):

• I was having lunch with the CEO yesterday when he mentioned that we might need to make job cuts. (here, the fact that this person was having lunch with the CEO is just the background to the main piece of information)
• The birds were singing, and the sun was shining as Robin skipped down the street.
• Everything was as normal. The children were chasing each other around the playground. The teachers were chatting in the common room. Then, it happened.

Past continuous vs past simple

The past continuous and past simple can both describe past events, but they present those events differently. The past continuous presents an action or situation as being in progress at a particular past time, while the past simple normally presents a completed past event or the event that interrupts an action already in progress.

The choice is not always determined by the event itself. It often depends on how the speaker wants to present the event: as a complete past event with the past simple, or as something ongoing or in progress with the past continuous.

Common time expressions with the past continuous

The past continuous is often used with time expressions that show when an action was in progress, how long it continued, or how it related to another past action. Some expressions can also emphasise repeated behaviour:

Common mistakes with the past continuous

Some of the most common mistakes with the past continuous involve using it for completed past events, fixed numbers of completed actions, general past habits, or with stative verbs.

Using the past continuous for a completed past action

We normally use the past simple, not the past continuous, when we are simply reporting a single completed action in the past. The past continuous is more appropriate when the action was in progress at a particular past time, formed the background to another event, or when its ongoing nature is relevant.

• ❌ She was signing the contract yesterday.
• ✅ She signed the contract yesterday.
• ❌ We were choosing a new sofa last weekend.
• ✅ We chose a new sofa last weekend.

Using the past continuous for a fixed number of completed actions

We normally use the past simple when we give a specific number of times that an action was completed. The past continuous can describe repeated activity during a limited period, but it does not normally count individual completed events.

• ❌ He was texting me seven times during the meeting.
• ✅ He texted me seven times during the meeting.
• ❌ I was visiting that shop three times last week.
• ✅ I visited that shop three times last week.

Using the past continuous for a general past habit

We normally use the past simple or used to for neutral habits and repeated actions that were generally true over a period in the past. The past continuous with words such as always or constantly is more likely when the speaker wants to emphasise the repeated behaviour or express an attitude towards it.

• ❌ My family was eating together every Sunday when I was young.
• ✅ My family ate together every Sunday when I was young. / My family used to eat together every Sunday when I was young.
• ❌ He was walking to work every day before he bought a car.
• ✅ He walked to work every day before he bought a car. / He used to walk to work every day before he bought a car.

Using stative verbs

We normally use the past simple, not the past continuous, with stative verbs when they describe states rather than actions. Common stative verbs include know, believe, understand, want, need, like, love, hate, prefer and have when it means possession.

• ❌ I was wanting a different job at the time.
• ✅ I wanted a different job at the time.
• ❌ She was owning two apartments when she lived in London.
• ✅ She owned two apartments when she lived in London.

Some stative verbs can be used in continuous forms when they have a different, more active meaning. For example, I thought the film was excellent expresses an opinion, while I was thinking about changing jobs describes the activity of considering something.

Free past continuous worksheets