Past

continuous
Abigail Dominguez y
Antonio Carranza
The grammatical form used for an
action that someone was doing or an
event that was happeing at a particular
time. It is made with "was" or "were"
and the -ing form of a verb.
Sentence Structure

Mode Structure Examples

subject+was/
Positive were+verb+ing+complemen She was dancing at the party.
t

subject+was/
We were't studying in the
Negative were+not+verb+ing+comple
classroom.
ment

Was/
Were you making the
Interrogative were+suject+verb+ing+com
proyect?
plement
 Uses of past continuous

Actions in progress in the past: I was reading a book yesterday afternoon.

Interrupted Actions: I was watching TV when the phone rang.

Background Information: It was a sunny day, and birds were chirping in the
trees.
Parallel Actions: While she was cooking dinner, he was setting the table.

Actions in Progress with a Specific Time: At 3 PM yesterday, I was

working on my presentation.
Past continuous or past simple?
We were walking
around the
Past continuous Past simple downtown
when we saw a
• Describe a situation Chinese food
• Main events.
that continue for restaurant.
• Actions that began and
some time.
finished in the past.
• The action is We can use
• Series of events.
interrupted by the main while, as, when
event. to connect.
Thanks for
attention