Formula

was/were + Ving

I\He\she\it was
You\they\we were
Examples
• She is carrying a large box
• They are building a bridge
• We are celebrating a birthday
• I’m studying for a test
• He is making his homework
• The cat is drinking milk
• My neighbors are repairing their apartment
• Sarah is training
Was or Were?
• They _____ cooking a dinner
• Ted _____ preparing for a trip
• Sarah _____ trying on a new dress
• Our company _____ doing well at the present time
• Our soccer team _____ winning the game
• The president _____ speaking
• Police officers _____ teaching new recruits
3 types of sentences
• Positive (+) Subject + was\were + verb + the rest
• Negative (-) Subject + was\were not + verb + the rest
• Question (?) was\were + subject + verb + the rest

• He was playing a computer game

• He was not playing a computer game
• Was he playing a computer game?
For negative statements we add not after am\
is\are
• She was not learning French
• They were not cleaning the room when she arrived
• Our new neighbor was not cutting the grass at 8 pm
• The sports team was not winning the game when I turned the TV on
Make negative statements from positive
statements
• I was washing the dishes when she distracted me
• She was always learning hard when she was at school
• He was walking the dog when I saw him
• They were completing the work
• Mr. Bean was driving his car
• The revenue of the business was going up
For questions firs we use was\were, then the
subject, then the verb
• Was he doing his homework?
• Were they building a bridge?
• Was she painting a wall?
• Were you learning a new subject?
• Were they chatting when you came home?
Make questions from positive statements
• She was waiting for the bus
• He was watering the plants
• She was fueling the car
• They were doing the chores
• We were feeding the animals
We don’t use modal verbs in continuous
• I was canning do that – no-no
• I could do that – yes-yes
When do we use it
• As a background for actions in past simple tense
• When we don’t know if the action is finished
As a background for actions in past simple
tense
• I was waiting for the bus when I saw her
• He was watering the plants when he lost his keys
• I bought some candies while she was fueling the car
• They were listening to the music while they were doing the chores
• We were feeding the animals when Mike fell down and broke the
fence
When we don’t know if the action is finished
• He was staying in Vietnam
• He was studying hard
• She was planning the trip to Italy
• They were building the bridge
• They were staying in a hotel