Past Continuous: statements

 

We use the Past Continuous to talk about actions or events that were in progress at a particular time in the past:

• Jane was reading a book when I came in.
• This time last week I was hiking in the Alps.
• – Did they have time to see the sights of Rome? – Not really. They were playing football all weekend.

 

To make the Past Continuous, we use was/were + the “-ing” form of the verb:

 

Singular	Plural
I was walking You were walking He/she/it was walking	We were walking You were walking They were walking

 

The Past Continuous is often used to describe what was going on when a particular event happened or to give the reason for a past event. That event is usually put in the Past Simple:

• We were eating lunch when somebody knocked on the door.
• The last time I saw him, he was washing his car.
• She didn’t go out because she was working late.
• I forgot about my meal because I was talking on the phone.

 

We often use the Past Continuous to describe the background of a story. For example, we can talk about the weather or what people were doing before the story (event, action) started:

• It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Children were laughing and playing in the street. Suddenly a heavy grey cloud appeared in the sky.