Past Continuous

Form

Past tense of the auxiliary verb be (was/were)+ the present participle (verb+ing)

Affirmative: (subject+was/were+verb+ing)
Negative: (subject+was/were+not+verb+ing)
Question: (was/were+subject+verb+ing)

Usage

* For interrupted past action.

-While I was having a bath, the phone rang.

*Used without a time expression, it can indicate gradual development that took place in the past.

-It was getting darker.
-The winds were rising.

*It can express an action, which began before that time and probably continued after it.

-At eight, he was having breakfast- implies that he was in the middle of breakfast at eight. i.e. that he had started it before eight.

-He had breakfast at eight would imply that he started at eight.

*We use the continuous tense in description. Note the combination of description (past continuous) with narrative (past simple).

-When I woke up, the sun was shining and the birds were singing.

Note that the past continuous almost always requires some form of time reference. For example, I was playing tennis... simply doesn't make sense, as we dont know when. One of the few occasions when it is possible to use the past continuous without a specific time reference is with the gradual development usage as detailed above.

Typical student errors/mistakes:

*Omission of the verb to be
*Omission of the -ing
*Use of the -ing with state verbs (see present continuous)
*Confusion with past simple

Sample activate stage teaching ideas:

*Detective game: Where were you yesterday at 7:00 p.m.? What were you doing? Etc.

*Use of diaries/journals: What were you doping at 7:00 am on Monday?

*Telling stories: Narrating and describing a story using a combination of past simple and past continuous; these can be based on visual prompts and/or other stimuli.