Unit 3: Past Continuous Tense Verbs

Read the excerpt and pay attention to the past tense and past continuous verbs

Most Canadian children have experience building forts with chairs and blankets in their living
rooms or basements. This is a common activity for children and known as blanket fort building.

Last Saturday, it was snowing and the wind was blowing hard all day. Sam was playing
inside his house, but he really wanted to go outside. His mom said it was storming too hard
to play outside. She said that after the storm finished, he could play outside. However, while
the wind was blowing and the snow was falling, it was too dangerous to go outside. Sam was
feeling bored. He was watching TV and trying not to watch the snow through the window.
Suddenly, the strong winds caused the electricity to go out. There were no lights and no TV.
Everything was dark inside the house. Sam’s mom got the
flashlights and told him to gather some blankets. They were
going to build a fort. Sam was excited when he heard about
building a fort. They started building a big fort out of chairs
and blankets. While they were still building the fort, the lights
came back on. However, Sam did not notice. He was having a
great time building the fort with his mom. He even forgot
about the snow outside.
Photo Source: How to Make a Blanket Fort: 12 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

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Analyzing Form
Read the sentences and answer the questions:
A. This morning I went for a run and then took a shower.
B. At 7am this morning, I was running and my husband was sleeping.

➔ Which sentence shows two past activities in progress at the same time. A or B
➔ Which sentence shows two completed past activities? A or B

Thinking About Meaning - Past Continuous Tense

1a) The past continuous is used to talk about activities that were happening in the past. It
could be an exact moment in the past or during a longer period in the past.

● It wasn’t raining this morning. It was snowing.

1b) Simultaneous activities:

The past continuous is used to talk about a number of activities that were happening at the
same time. (Simultaneous activities)

● Last night after supper, the children were doing their homework, the mother was
finishing some work on the computer, and the father was cleaning the kitchen.

1c) Interruptive activities:

The past continuous tense combines past actions in progress with a sudden action which
interrupted the progressive action.

● I was sleeping (in progress) when my phone rang (interruptive action).

● When I was reading a book, my sister came in.

1d) The past continuous expresses an activity in the past that may or may not be finished or
complete. In contrast, the simple past usually expresses a completed activity.

● Last Thursday at 5pm, Sue was working late. She was trying to finish an important
report. (The past continuous shows that the work was still in progress at 5pm.)

● At 4pm last Friday, Sue finished work early and went home. (The simple past
shows that work is complete and Sue went home.)

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2. The past continuous and simple past often occur together in a story or a description. The
past continuous is used to describe and give the background events and the simple past is
used to state the finished main events. See the example below:

The beach was beautiful. The sun was shining, the children were playing in the water, and I
was lying on my towel reading a book. Suddenly, a swimmer yelled for help. A child was too
far out in the water. They were struggling to keep their head above water. The lifeguard dove
into the water and swam quickly towards the child.

Stative Verbs & Past Continuous

1a) Verbs in English can be classified into two categories: stative verbs and action verbs.
● Action verbs talk about the actions we can take or events that happen.
● Stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition which is not changing or is not likely
to change. Some common stative verbs are know, own, mean, see, and understand.
It is important to know the difference between stative and action verbs because stative verbs
cannot normally be used in the continuous (BE + ING) forms.

● I knew her when I was young. I was knowing her when I was young.
● They owned an apartment building. They were owning an apartment building.

1b) Some stative verbs can be used in the past continuous, but they are used as action verbs
with a different meaning. Have, think, taste and weigh are common examples for stative
verbs that can take the past progressive form with an active verb meaning.

Simple Past Past Continuous

● Did you have a car at university?
(have = own/possession)
● I thought it was a fun idea.
(thought = believe)
● The soup tasted salty.
(taste = flavour)
We were having a great time at the party.
(having = experiencing a good time)
I was thinking about my parents last night.
(thinking = having thoughts/memories)
The chef was tasting the soup.
(tasting = trying or sampling)

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FORM - Past Continuous Tense
Affirmative Statements Negative Statements

Subject WAS/ Base form of Subject WAS/WERE Base form of

WERE VERB -ing + NOT VERB + ING

I was I was not

wasn’t
You were staying inside.
You were not
He was weren’t
staying inside.
She
It He was not
She wasn’t
We were It

They were We were not

weren’t
They
Yes/No Questions

WAS/ Subject Base Form of Short Answer

WERE Verb + ING
Yes Subject WAS/WERE
Were you
Yes, I was.
Was he /she staying inside?
/it he /she /it were.

Were they they were.

No Subject WAS/WERE + NOT

No, I wasn’t.

he /she /it weren’t.

they weren’t.

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 Information Questions

Wh-Word WAS/WERE Subject Base Form of VERB + ING

Who were you seeing?

What was he doing?

Where was she going?

When was it arriving?

Why were you staying home?

How were they travelling?

Wh-Word (subject) WAS/WERE Base Form of VERB + ING

Who was leaving?

What was happening?

Practice Exercises with Past Continuous Tense Verbs

A. Look at the pictures and answer the questions about last Saturday.

play soccer wash the car wash the dishes do the laundry play with the dog

prepare / make play computer go for a swim in play the guitar get up / wake up
breakfast games the pool

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1. What was Jake doing at 8:00 a.m.? He was getting up or waking up.

2. What was Jake’s father doing at 5:30 p.m.? ______________________________________

3. What was Jake’s father doing at 11:15 a.m.? _____________________________________

4. What was Jake doing at 2:00 p.m.? ____________________________________________

5. What was Jake’s father doing at 8:00 a.m.? ______________________________________

6. What was Jake doing at 11:15 a.m.? ___________________________________________

7. What was Jake’s father doing at 2:00 p.m.? _____________________________________

8. What was Jake doing at 7:45 p.m.? ____________________________________________

9. What was Jake doing at 5:30 p.m.? ____________________________________________

10. What was Jake’s father doing at 7:45 p.m.? ____________________________________

Past Time Clauses

After the storm finished, he could play outside.

While the wind was blowing and the snow was falling, it was too dangerous to go outside.
Sam was excited when he heard about building a fort.
While they were still building the fort, the lights came back on.

The past continuous and simple past are often used together in sentences. For these sentences,
we need to use time clauses. These time clauses include: BEFORE, AFTER, WHEN, WHILE

Sentences with Past Time Clauses

Past Time Clause (dependent clause) Main Clause (independent clause)

Subject Verb Subject Verb

Before the power went out, Sam was watching TV.

After the lights went out, Sam built a fort.

When the power went out, Sam was watching TV.

While they were building the fort, the lights came back on.

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 ➔ Past time clauses are dependent clauses. They begin with before, after, when and while.
➔ The verbs in a past time clause and main clause can be in the simple past OR in the past
continuous tense.
➔ The position of the past time clause can be first or second, but when the past time
clause comes first, it is separated from the main clause by a comma.

Position of Past Time Clauses

Past Time Clause Main Clause

After the storm finished, he played outside in the snow.

When the lights went out, they built a fort with blankets and chairs.

Main Clause Past Time Clause

He played outside in the snow after the storm finished.

They built a fort with blankets and chairs when the lights went out.

Practicing Punctuation with Past Time Clauses

A) Read the paragraph. Underline the time clauses. Add commas where necessary.

I had a terrible experience last night when my roommate was out of town. A thief came into

our apartment while I was asleep. While I was sleeping peacefully someone broke the glass in

the sliding door and entered. The sound woke me up. After I saw the sliding door open I called

911. My voice was shaking while I told the 911 operator there was an intruder in my home. I hid

in the closet of my bedroom while the thief was sneaking around my apartment. I could hear

his footsteps. Through the crack in the closed door, I saw him take my laptop from my desk.

Before the police arrived the thief escaped out the sliding door. I left my hiding spot in the

closet after the thief escaped. The police are still looking for the intruder.

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B) Change the position for the Past Time Clause in the following sentences

1. Jenny saw Pedro when she went to the supermarket.

When Jenny went to the supermarket, she saw Pedro.

2. Before the children went to bed, they watched TV and had a snack.

______________________________________________________

3. Mohammad became a lawyer after he graduated from university.

______________________________________________________

4. It started to rain while I was driving to work.

______________________________________________________

5. While Yoko was driving in the snowstorm, she had an accident.

______________________________________________________

6. When Helen finished her final exam, she celebrated with her friends.

______________________________________________________

Analyzing Form of Past Time Clauses

Read the sentences and answer the questions:
A. I was taking a nap when the delivery arrived at my door.
B. I put up my umbrella before walking to the bus.
C. Sue was making dinner while her roommate was studying for her exam.

➔ Which sentence shows two past activities happening at the same time. A or B or C
➔ Which sentence shows that one event interrupted the other event. A or B or C
➔ Which sentence shows that one event happened after the other event. A or B or C

Simultaneous Events (Events happening at the exact same time)

When two events are happening at the same time in the past, they are simultaneous. In this
case, the verbs in both the time clause and main clause are in the past continuous tense.

● While the mother was making dinner in the kitchen, the children were watching TV in

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 the living room.
● The children were watching TV in the living room while the mother was making dinner
in the kitchen.

Interrupted Events (an action interrupting another action)

For events that interrupt each other, the simple past action happens in the middle of the past
continuous action. In this case, the past continuous event started first and was interrupted by
the simple past event. When or while begins the time clause, which uses the past continuous
tense.

● While I was taking a nap, the Amazon delivery arrived.

● The Amazon delivery arrived while I was taking a nap.
● When I was living in Tokyo, the earthquake happened.
● The earthquake happened when I was living in Tokyo.

Sequence of Events (one event happening after the other event)

With events that happen one after each other in the past, both the time clause and the main
clause are in the simple past. Before, When, or After introduces the time clause and shows
the order of the events.

● After he threw the ball, it broke the window.

● Before the ball broke the window, the boy ran away.
● When the window shattered, the mother looked out at the boy with surprise.

Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences?

A. When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner.
B. When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner.

In A, Jane started cooking dinner before the guests arrived. We know that because it uses the
past continuous. This is an example of an interrupted event. In B, the guests arrived first and
then Jane started cooking. This is an example of a sequence of events; one event happens after
another event.

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Practice 1: Talking about Simultaneous, Interrupted and Sequential Events
Complete each sentence and indicate if it is a simultaneous, interrupted or sequential event.

1. My roommate and I made dinner together on Saturday night. While she was making the
spaghetti, I was baking the dessert. Both the main course and the dessert were
delicious. simultaneous events

2. We were watching the play when _______________________________

3. I’m sorry I did not answer the door. The doorbell rang while _______________________

4. Before Larry became a doctor, ______________________________________

5. ________________________________ after Larry became a doctor.

6. Friday night while I was watching a movie, ___________________________________

Practice 2: Correct the errors in the sentences below.

broke
1. I feel awful. I was breaking my favourite mug when I put the dishes away from the
dishwasher this morning.

2. I am so sorry about your mug. I was dropping it as I took it out of the dishwasher.

3. It snowing when we woke up this morning.

4. After he was throwing the ball, it broke the window.

5. She was reading after she went to sleep,

6. When he was tripping over his cat, his cat was sleeping.

Practice 3: Complete the sentences below using the type of event.

1. While I (do) was doing the dishes, I (break) broke a plate. interrupted action
2. While Tom (make) ___________________ breakfast, he (listen) ___________________ to the
news. simultaneous events
3. After he (drink) ___________________ some juice, he (eat) ___________________ a few
chips. sequence of events

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4. I (have) ___________________ dinner when I suddenly (hear) ______________ a loud bang.
interrupted action
5. When my father (work) ___________________ in the garden, an old friend (come)
___________________ by to see him. interrupted action
6. After she (go) ___________________ to school, she (take) ___________________ out her
textbook and (begin) ___________________ to learn. sequence of events
7. When it (start) ___________________ to rain, our dog (want) ______________ to come
inside. sequence of events
8. While Jane (take) ___________________ a language course in England, she (visit)
___________________ Buckingham Castle. interrupted action

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