How to Use Past Continuous Tense

Have you ever tried describing a scene from the past, like what someone was doing at a specific moment or how events unfolded simultaneously? That’s when you need to use the past continuous tense! This tense is used to describe ongoing actions in the past. In narrating or telling a captivating story, sharing an unforgettable experience, or explaining why something happened, the past continuous can add depth and clarity to your communication. Let’s dive in and explore how to use this tense effectively!

A. The Structure of Past Continuous Tense

Positive Sentence

Subject + Was/Were + Present Participle (Verb-ing)

Example sentences:

• The student was learning English structure.
• Some workers were repairing the road.
• Fani and her sister were walking along the beach.

Question / Interrogative Sentence

Was/Were + Subject + Present Participle (Verb-ing)

Example sentences:

• Was the student learning English structure?
• Were they repairing the road?
• Were Fani and her sister walking along the beach?

Negative Sentences

Subject + Was/Were + Not + Present Participle (Verb-ing)

Example sentences:

• The student wasn't learning English structure.
• Some workers were not repairing the road.
• Fani and her sister weren't walking along the beach.

B. How to Use Past Continuous Tense

1. Past continuous tense is used to talk about what was happening at a particular time in the past.
   • What were you doing yesterday at seven p.m.?
   • When she entered the room, the students were doing the assignment.
   Compare the two sentences below. They refer to different situations:
   • When the guest arrived, we were still preparing dinner.
   • When the guest arrived, we prepared dinner.
2. In narratives (stories, etc.), the past continuous is often used for descriptions, and the past simple for events and actions.
   The waiter was setting the table with fine china and crystal glasses. Just as he was placing the last plate, someone bumped into him, and the plate fell to the floor.
3. The past continuous is used for temporary actions and situations in the past. For longer or more permanent situations, we usually use the past simple.
   The earthquake happened while I was living in Bantul last year.
   I lived in Malang for ten years when I was a child.
4. In the expressions "I was wondering if you could/would…….., I was hoping, and I was thinking", the past continuous is used to make a request or suggestion sound more polite or less definite.
   I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me for dinner one evening.
5. The past continuous can be used to indicate a gradually developing situation.
   It was getting darker.
   The wind was rising.
6. In indirect speech, the past continuous is used as a past equivalent of the present continuous:
   He said, “She is working.” He said that she was working.
7. Just as in the present continuous, there are verbs that cannot be used in the past continuous.


C. Exercise Section

A. Do this exercise. Put the verbs into the past continuous tense.
1. The students were distracted because the teacher (write) something on the whiteboard.
2. He usually cycles to work, but when I saw him yesterday, he (ride) a motorbike.
3. The park was empty, but the fountain (flow) steadily.
4. A group of teenagers (play) basketball, and two parents (chat) near the bleachers.
5. When I first spoke to him, he (wait) for his coffee at the café.
6. When I entered the classroom, she (draw) something on the blackboard.
7. He (stand) near the train station. I asked him what train he (wait) for.
8. I walked into the backyard to see what the kids (do). Budi (water) the plants, and Sari (paint) a birdhouse.
9. While she (learn) to bake, she accidentally burned the cookies twice.
10. While we (hike) through the woods, someone passed by and left this note.
11. As he (climb) the steep hill, his backpack fell off and rolled down.
12. Clara didn’t order dessert because she (try) to eat healthily.
13. I couldn’t hear him properly because the music (play) so loudly.
14. From the voices inside, it was clear that the choir (rehearse) a new song.
15. The race had just begun, and the participants (tie) their shoelaces tighter.
B. Put the verbs into the simple past or the past continuous.
1. I (prepare) dinner when the electricity (cut) off, so I (finish) cooking with a flashlight.
2. When I (arrive) at the seminar, the session had already begun, and the speaker (present) a new slide.
3. She suddenly (realize) that she (drive) on the wrong route.
4. He (sing) loudly in the park when someone (shout) from a nearby house and (throw) a ball at him.
5. You (look) so focused when I (pass) by yesterday. What you (work) on?
6. To reach his village, he (need) to cross a river where a protective swan usually (swim).
7. The swan normally (not attack) people unless something (disturb) its nest.
8. Unfortunately, as he (row) across the river, his phone suddenly (start) ringing.
9. While she (paint) the wall, it (start) to drizzle. She (grab) a raincoat and (keep) painting.
10. I (discover) an old coin while I (dig) a hole for planting flowers.
11. When they (arrive) at the airport, their guide (wait) for them. As soon as they (spot) him, they (wave) excitedly.
12. The workers (explain) that they (repair) the road near my building and that they (need) extra tools.
13. Why you (give) her that magazine? I still (read) it when you took it!
14. When I (visit) the tailor yesterday, he (mention) that he (sew) my new dress.
15. When I last (see) him, he (rush) into the library. I (ask) where he (go), and he (reply), "To meet a professor."
Review the differences between the Simple Past and the Past Continuous HERE.
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