Past Continuous

Past continuous tense

The farmer was working at 6 o’clock yesterday evening

I was

playing

You

We

They

were

He

She

It

was

Past continuous tense

was I

playing?

were

you

we

they

was

he

she

it

I

Was not

Wasn’t

playing

You

We

They

were not

weren’t

He

She

It

was not

wasn’t

I n t e r r o g a t i v e N e g a t i v e

Uses of the past continuousWe use the past continuous tense to describe a past action over a period of time

What were they doing yesterday at 8 o’clock?

They were working all day.

This time yesterday the hairdresser was working

We use the past continuous to say that somebody was in the middle of doing something at a certain time.

Past simple and past continuous are used together when something happened in the middle of something else

The policeman broke his ankle while he was running after the dog

The past simple and the past continuous do not mean exactly the same. Compare:

When Mary arrived, we were having dinner.

This means that we already started dinner before Mary arrived.

When Mary arrived, we had dinner.

This means that Mary arrived first and then we had dinner.

Time expressions:While, as, when.

While the band was playing a mobile phone rang.

What were Mike and Louise doing yesterday?

When the teacher arrived at school…

didn’t see

was looking

met

were going

was going

had

were waiting

was cycling

stepped

was going

managed

didn’t hit

Cora was reading a letter

when Jimmy phoned her

Andy was coming out of the restaurant when he saw Jenny

Practice: Do you have a good memory?Are you a good witness?

• Directions: Look at the following picture for one minute. Try to remember as many details as you can, but don’t write anything.

Only one minute…

• Ready, go ….

One minute…

What do you remember?1. How many people were there?2. Where were the people?3. What was hanging from the ceiling?4. What was the bank robber holding?5. What was the bank robber wearing?6. What color was his hair?7. What was covering the bank robber’s face?8. Was the bank robber right-handed or left-handed?9. What was the bank manager doing?10. What was the bank teller doing?11. Who was walking into the bank?12. What time was it?13. What was on the bank manager’s desk?

4

In a bankA video camera

A gun

Blue shirt, brown jacket, beige trousersBlond

A red scarfright-handed

Talking on the phone

Putting the money into the bagA policeman

10:25

Phone, book, and a lamp