Past Continues Tense

 

What is Past Continuous Tense?

The past continuous tense talks about actions or events that were happening at a specific time in the past.

Rules and Structure in Past Continuous Tense

• Affirmative:  Sentence: Subject + was/were + verb(-ing) + object.
• Negative Sentence:  Subject + was/were + not + verb(-ing) + object.
• Interrogative Sentence:  Was/Were + subject + verb(-ing) + object?

Here are five examples of sentences in the past Continues Tense:

• She was visiting the museum yesterday.
• They were playing football in the park.
• I was finishing my homework last night.
• He was buying a new car last week.
• We were watching a movie on Sunday.

Subject Verb Explanation:

• Use “was not” with singular subjects like “I,” “he,” “she,” or “it” in the past.
• Use “were not” with plural subjects and with “you,” “we,” and “they” in the past.

How to Make Sentences in the Past Continuous Tense?

The Past Continuous Tense also has simple rules for forming positive, negative, and question sentences. Let’s look at each type with easy explanations and examples:

Affirmative or Positive Sentences
Affirmative sentences in the past continuous tense describe actions that were happening at a particular moment in the past. The structure of affirmative sentences is:

Structure: Subject + was/were + verb(-ing) + object

Examples:

• She was reading a book at 8 PM yesterday.
• They were playing in the garden when it started raining.
• I was studying for my exam last night.
• He was writing a letter when the power went out.
• We were watching TV at that time.

Negative Sentence

Negative sentences in the Past Continuous Tense show that an action was not happening at a specific time in the past.

Structure:     Subject + was/were + not + verb(-ing) + object

Examples:

• She was not reading a book at 8 PM yesterday.
• They were not playing in the garden when it started raining.
• I was not studying for my exam last night.
• He was not writing a letter when the power went out.
• We were not watching TV at that time.

Interrogative Sentence

To ask questions in the Past Continuous Tense, we place "was" or "were" before the subject. If question words like where, what, or when are used, they come at the beginning of the sentence, followed by "was" or "were" and the verb ending in -ing.

Structure:     Was/Were + Subject + Verb(-ing) + Object?

Examples:

• Was she reading a book at 8 PM yesterday?
• Were they playing in the garden when it started raining?
• Was I studying for my exam last night?
• Was he writing a letter when the power went out?
• Were we watching TV at that time?