How do we make the past continuous tense in English?
Note: This is also called the past progressive tense.
Positive form
Use the past simple of be and the verb-ing form.
Note: There is no short form.
| I was playing |
| you were playing |
| he was playing |
| she was playing |
| it was playing |
| we were playing |
| they were playing |
For example:
- I was having dinner.
- He was staying at a hotel.
- They were sitting on a bench.
Negative form
Put not after the past simple of be.
| Full form | Short forms |
| I was not playing | I wasn’t playing |
| you were not playing | you weren’t playing |
| he was not playing | he wasn’t playing |
| she was not playing | she wasn’t playing |
| it was not playing | it wasn’t playing |
| we were not playing | we weren’t playing |
| they were not playing | they weren’t playing |
For example:
- I was not studying.
- You were not listening.
- She was not sleeping.
- The internet wasn’t working. (it wasn’t working)
- We weren’t watching TV.
Question forms
Like for questions with the past simple of be, invert the subject and the past simple of be, and then put a question word (what, who, etc.) at the beginning for wh- questions.
| Yes/No questions | |
| Was I playing? | |
| Were you playing? | |
| Was he playing? | |
| Was she playing? | |
| Was it playing? | |
| Were we playing? | |
| Were they playing? | |
| Wh- questions | |
| What Who Where When Why How etc. | was I playing? |
| were you playing? | |
| was he playing? | |
| was she playing? | |
| was it playing? | |
| were we playing? | |
| were they playing? | |
For example:
- Was it raining?
- Were we cooking dinner when he called?
- What was I thinking?
- How were you feeling after the exam?
- Where were they going?
Short answers
| Positive | Negative |
| Yes, I was. | No, I wasn’t. |
| Yes, you were. | No, you weren’t. |
| Yes, he was. | No, he wasn’t. |
| Yes, she was. | No, she wasn’t. |
| Yes, it was. | No, it wasn’t. |
| Yes, we were. | No, we weren’t. |
| Yes, they were. | No, they weren’t. |
Note: We sometimes use full forms in negative short answers (e.g. No, I was not.), but this is rare and mainly used in very formal contexts or for emphasis.