Past Continuous

Basic · Verb Tenses

The past continuous paints the background of a past scene. It describes an action that was already in progress at a moment in the past — often when something else suddenly happened.

Picture a movie: "I was walking home (long background action) when it started to rain (short interrupting action)." The long action uses the past continuous; the short one uses the past simple.

How to build it

was / were + verb-ing

Rules & examples

1. An action in progress that is interrupted by a shorter action.

   The longer action = past continuous; the interruption = past simple, often with "when".

   • I was cooking when the phone rang.
   • They were sleeping when we arrived.
2. Two longer actions happening at the same time.

   Often joined by "while".

   • While I was reading, she was watching TV.
3. Setting the scene at the start of a story.

   Describes the atmosphere/background.

   • The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

Tips to remember

• Rule of thumb: "when" is usually followed by the past simple (the interruption); "while" is usually followed by the past continuous (the background).
• was = I/he/she/it; were = you/we/they.

Common mistakes

• ✗ When she called, I cooked. → ✓ When she called, I was cooking. — The longer, interrupted action takes the past continuous.