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Past Continuous
Learn how to master the Past Continuous tense with this clear and concise lesson! We’ll explore how to form the Past Continuous, when to use it, and how it helps to describe ongoing actions in the past. Whether you’re describing what was happening at a specific moment or setting the scene for a story, this video will make understanding and using the Past Continuous tense easy and fun. Perfect for English learners of all levels. Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell for more grammar tips and lessons!
Grammar
Past Continuous
Practice how to use Past Continuous.
Transcript
Introduction:
- Host: Hello and welcome to the English Magnet. Today’s video: The Past Continuous Made Easy! When talking about the past, the past simple is your go-to tense, what about adding some precision with some past continuous in there? It’s a great way to diversify your sentence structures and it’s pretty straightforward. We’ll cover its structure, its uses, related key time words and common mistakes to avoid. Alright, let’s go!
Part 1: Structure of the Past Continuous
To form the past continuous tense, you combine two elements. Start with the past form of “to be” (was or were), followed by the present participle, which is the main verb’s base form + “-ing”. The present participle shows the action, but the tense is indicated by the auxiliary verb (was or were) that places the action in the past. So, its structure is: subject + was/were + present participle (base form +ing)
Example:
I was going / You were dancing / She was finishing
For most present participles, we just add -ing. For the few tweaks you have to do in terms of spelling, click the link.
The negative form is a piece of cake; squeeze in ‘not’ between the two words of the verb.
Contractions are common in the negative form. They fuse the auxiliary and the ‘not’ particle. So, you can get wasn’t for was not and weren’t for were not.
Example:
I wasn’t going / You weren’t dancing / She wasn’t finishing
For a question, flip the order of the subject and was / were.
Example:
Was I going? / Were you dancing? / Was she finishing?
Finally, with a negative question you add ‘not’ after the subject. Keep in mind that if you form a contraction, the ‘not’ moves next to was or were in its contracted form.
Example:
Was I not going? / Wasn’t I going? / Were you not dancing? / Weren’t you dancing? / Was she not finishing? / Wasn’t she finishing?
Part 2: Uses
Let’s go over when we use the past continuous… from obvious to eyebrow raising. Bear in mind that the past continuous is roughly a transposition of the present continuous in the past with its own subtleties.
1) It’s used to talk about an action in progress in the past. That’s by far, the most common way it’s used. Since the action is ongoing, there is a sense that the action is continuing in the past.
Example: We were watching TV at 7 pm last night.
At a specific moment in the past (7 pm last night), the watching was in progress.
2) It’s used to talk about an interrupted action or parallel actions in the past
Example: They were brainstorming when Mike came in.
An action (brainstorming) was abruptly stopped (when Mike came in).
Example: I was cleaning the living room while my neighbor was barbecuing.
Both actions were running concurrently in the past. In other words, cleaning and barbecuing were happening at the same time.
3) It’s used to talk about a habit in the past. Habits are repeated actions and take place over a span of time.
Example: He was always leaving his dirty dishes in the sink.
A bad habit repeated over a period of time by a bad roommate!
4) It’s used to talk about background description in the past. Here the past continuous sets the scene and provides details to more important foreground actions.
Example: As the superheroes were practicing their flying skills in the park and squirrels were organizing an acorn treasure hunt nearby, Jim bought an ice cream.
The practicing and organizing actions are just there to set the scene and add details to the more important action of buying which is in the past simple.
5) It’s used to emphasize the length of an action in the past.
Example: We were waiting for the bus for over an hour.
The waiting wasn’t a momentary action but rather a lengthy one, over an hour actually!
6) It’s used to make a polite indirect question or inquiry. By being less direct, this approach is softer and can imply that the speaker is being considerate or respectful.
Example: I was wondering if you could help me with this project?
Using the past continuous is more polite than simply asking “can you help me?”
Were you planning on joining us for dinner tonight?
This is more polite than asking “are you coming to dinner?”
Part 3: Key time words
When using the past continuous, key time words can come in handy.
1) All / the whole + (time period) day / week / month / year (these time words emphasize the duration of an action)
Example
Were you eating junk food all evening last night? The eating took place over a long period (all evening last night).
Sandy was dressing up the whole morning. That’s a lengthy action… maybe not for some of you 😉
2) At + specific moment 6 am / dusk / the end of the week / the beginning of our trip
Example
George was sitting at home at dinner time. The sitting was ongoing at a specific time in the past, dinner time!
At 9 in the morning, we were discussing the new project in the meeting room. The discussion was ongoing at a specific moment in the past; 9 am.
3) Past time words: yesterday, last night, 2 days ago (any time word related to the past)
Example
They were having a picnic in the park yesterday when it started to rain. The having a picnic took place in the past and we can assume it took a while as well.
We were watching a movie last night while it was snowing outside. Two actions took place at the same time and the time word helps place it in the past.
4) Always, all the time, the entire time (other adverbs of frequency work as well) Note that many of them are placed between the auxiliary and the present participle.
Example
She was constantly checking her email while she was waiting for the job offer. The checking took place repeatedly over a period of time in the past.
During the weekends, my parents were usually gardening in the backyard. Gardening was a habit happening in the past on the weekends.
Part 4: Common Mistakes
1) Stative verbs
Some verbs, known as stative verbs, are seldom or never used in the past continuous tense because they describe conditions, states, or actions that don’t typically involve ongoing processes. While not exhaustive, these verbs can be grouped into categories like mental verbs related to emotions (love, hate), beliefs (think, want), and cognition (understand, remember). Physical stative verbs also exist, focusing on senses (see, taste), possession (have, own), and states of being (be, seem). Although there are situations where these verbs might appear in the past continuous, the past simple is generally more appropriate.
I was remembering where I had left my keys. = I remembered where I had left my keys. (remembering something is usually considered a momentary action, not a process).
My friend was seeing you yesterday. = My friend saw you yesterday. When an action is connected to our senses (sight in this case), continuous tenses aren’t ideal.
2) When vs While
When you’re forming complex sentences, be careful with ‘when’ & ‘while’.
“When” is often used to indicate an action that interrupts another or simply to reference the time an action happened. So it fits best in the format ‘past continuous + when + past simple’.
We were petting the sheep while a gaggle of geese honked. (Yes, a group of geese is a gaggle!) 😂= We were petting the sheep when a gaggle of geese honked. ‘when’ is the right connector here since the honking is quick and interrupting while the petting was in progress and being interrupted.
“While” is typically used to show that two actions were happening at the same time or that an ongoing action was happening when another action took place. So, you can use the structure ‘past continuous + while + past continuous’. The cat was sleeping when the kids were playing in the yard. = The cat was sleeping while the kids were playing in the yard. ‘while’ is better suited to express two actions happening at the same time; sleeping and playing which are ongoing actions in the past.