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Past Continuous
The Past Continuous tense describes actions that were ongoing at a specific time in the past.
A2Tenses
Rule
The Past Continuous tense describes an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past.
- was/were + -ing form of the verb, e.g., was eating, were studying.
Usage
- To show an action that was happening at a specific time in the past, e.g., I was watching TV at 8pm last night.
- To describe an action that was interrupted by another action, e.g., I was cooking dinner when the phone rang.
- To set a background for another action in the past, e.g., She was working when I arrived.
Examples
- She was reading a book at 5pm yesterday.
- They were playing football at the park.
- I was studying for my exam all night.
- He was writing an email when his computer crashed.
- Were you sleeping at 2am?
- It was raining when I left the office.
Common Mistakes
- Wrong: I was go to school. Correct: I was going to school.
- Wrong: They was eating dinner. Correct: They were eating dinner.
- Wrong: Was you studying at 8pm?. Correct: Were you studying at 8pm?.
Tip
Think of the Past Continuous like a video recording of an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past.
Quick check
Which sentence is in the past continuous tense?
Where this matters in your exam
Past Continuous is used in IELTS Writing Task 2 to provide background information or describe ongoing actions in the past.
- Writing Task 2
Use Past Continuous to describe background actions in essays.