past progressive

The past progressive, also called the past continuous, is a verb tense used for describing actions that occurred in the past. The past continuous also can show that a longer action in the past was interrupted by another action.

Construction

1. In English, the past progressive has two parts: a past tense form of the verb "be" (was or were), plus the --ing form of a verb. For example, "I was eating dinner" and "The students were reading" are examples of sentences in the past progressive.

Usage

2. The past progressive is used to indicate a past action that continued over time. It can also indicate a past action that was in progress when interrupted by another action. For example, "I was eating dinner when the phone rang" and "The students were reading when the bell sounded" show actions in the past (eating and reading) that were interrupted by another event.

 

Form of the Past Progressive/Continuous

We use a form of to be (was or were), the infinitive of the verb and the ending –ing.
to be (was, were) + infinitive + -ing

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Affirmative sentences:

I/he/she/it was playing football.
We/you/they were playing football.
NOTE: Use was with I, he, she, it -
and were with all other pronouns.
In affirmative sentences we do not use short forms in the Past Progressive.

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Negative sentences:

I/he/she/it was not playing football.
We/you/they were not playing football.
We use short forms in the Past Progressive in negative sentences:
I/he/she/it wasn't playing football.
We/you/they weren't playing football.

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Questions:

In the Past Progressive we put the auxiliary (was or were) before the subject
(Auxiliary - Subject - Verb - Rest).
Was I/he/she/it playing football?
Were we/you/they playing football?

simple past

Use the past simple to talk about activities or routines which take place at a specified time in the past. Notice that all subjects take the same conjugation of the verb. Regular verbs end in '-ed'.
visit - visited
enjoy - enjoyed
Irregular verbs have various forms and each verb needs to be learned.
see - saw
think - thought
The past simple is used to express a finished past action which occurs at a specific moment in the past.
Examples
She visited Iran last month.
They didn't go to Tom's party last weekend.
Where did you go on vacation last summer?
The following time signifiers often indicate a specific point in time.
last
ago
in ... (plus a year or month)
yesterday
when ... (plus a phrase)
Examples
They had lunch at home last week.
He left the company many years ago.
Susan bought a new car in May.
He telephoned his friend in Rome yesterday.
I played golf when I was a teenager.
Positive Form
Subject + past form of verb + object(s) + time
Examples
They flew to Chicago last month.
Peter completed his course three weeks ago.

Negative Form
Subject + did + not + base form of verb + object(s) + (time)
Examples
They didn't expect to see you at Christmas.
She didn't understand the question.

Question Form
(Wh?) + did + subject + base form of verb + (object(s))+ (time)?
Examples
Where did you study French?
When did you arrive last week?