Structure: ‘Past continuous (& past simple)’

Using the past continuous

You are probably familiar with the present continuous (eg I am working). The past continuous is a similar form to that.

Form: Subject + ‘be’ (in the past form) + verb-ing

Use 1: We use the past continuous to say that something was in progress at a specific time in the past.

Example 1: I was working last weekend. (last weekend is the ‘specific time’ in the past)

Use 2: To indicate the an action (past continuous) was in progress when another action (past simple) happened.

Example 2: We were approaching (in progress) to land when a bird hit the windshield.

Check the diagram below for more information about when we often use this tense and try to make some example sentences of your own.