Past Continuous Tense - Formula & Structure
- erohinadasha94
- Feb 14
- 2 min read
The Past Continuous Tense is used to describe actions that were happening at a specific time in the past or were ongoing when another action occurred. This tense often sets the background for another past event or emphasizes the duration of action in the past.
Structure
Affirmative
Subject + was/were + verb(-ing)
I/He/She/It | was + Ving |
You/We/They | were + Ving |
I was studying.
He was reading a book.
We were eating dinner.
Negative
Subject + was/were + not + verb(-ing)
I/He/She/It | was + not + Ving |
You/We/They | were + not + Ving |
I was not studying. = I wasn’t studying.
He was not reading a book. = He wasn’t reading a book.
We were not eating dinner. = We weren’t eating dinner.
Question
Was/Were + subject + verb(-ing)
Was | I/He/She/It + Ving |
Were | You/We/They + Ving |
Were you studying?
Was he reading a book?
Were they eating dinner?
Auxiliary Verb (To Be)
In the Past Continuous Tense, the auxiliary verb "to be" is used in its past forms: was and were. It changes depending on the subject:
was with ''I'', "he," "she," "it," or singular nouns
were with "we," "you," "they," or plural nouns
Main Verb
In the Past Continuous Tense, the main verb is always in its present participle (-ing) form and follows the auxiliary verb was/were.
The "-ing" form of the main verb indicates an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past.
Forming the -ing form of a verb involves some spelling rules depending on the base verb.
As a general rule, add -ing to the base verb.
play → playing
jump → jumping
If verbs end in silent "e", drop the final "e" and add -ing.
write → writing
make → making
If verbs end in "ie", change "ie" to "y" and add -ing.
lie → lying
die → dying
If one-syllable verbs end in 'vowel + consonant', double the final consonant and add -ing.
run → running
sit → sitting