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Spoken Description

Learn the Past Continuous tense: form with was/were + verb-ing; use for ongoing past actions, interrupted events, and background descriptions. Includes clear explanations, examples, practice activities, and quick tip summaries.

Learn to use the Past Continuous tense: form it with was/were + verb-ing; use for actions in progress in the past, parallel ongoing events, or background details. Practice with examples, exercises, and quick tip summaries to reinforce the structure.

-:- / -:-

The Past Continuous describes actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past, setting scenes and showing interrupted activity. Use it to paint a vivid picture of past events.

Usage

Use the Past Continuous to talk about ongoing actions in the past, to set background scenes, and to describe activities that were interrupted by another event.

Which situations correctly use the Past Continuous?

Talking about future plans

Describing an interrupted action (longer action)

Setting the background scene in a story

Describing completed actions without duration

Describing an action in progress at a past moment

Form

The Past Continuous is formed with was/were + the -ing form of the verb. This structure marks an action that was happening over a period of time.

	English Word(s)	English Word(s)
	I was eating	They were playing
	You were sleeping	She was working
	He was running	We were talking

Fill in the BlankI(to read) when you called.

I was reading when you called.

I ___ ___ (to read) when you called.

Examples

Interrupted Actions

Use the Past Continuous for the longer action that was happening when a shorter action in the Past Simple occurred. The shorter action is the interruptor.

In an interrupted action, which tense do you use for the longer action?

Past Continuous

Past Simple

Future Simple

Parallel Actions

Use the Past Continuous to describe two or more actions happening at the same time in the past, often joined by while or as.

Signal Words

Common signal words for the Past Continuous include while, when, as, and specific times that highlight an ongoing action. These cues help place actions in time.

Which signal word commonly pairs with the Past Continuous in interrupted actions?

while

yesterday

tomorrow

Summary

The Past Continuous describes actions in progress at a past moment, sets scenes, shows interruptions, and paints simultaneous activities. Use was/were + -ing consistently.

Goal

Teach English in English

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