How do I use the past continuous tense?
The past continuous tense is used to talk about actions that were ongoing at a specific time in the past.
The past continuous tense is formed with the past tense of “to be” (was/were) + the base form of the verb + -ing. It is used to describe actions that were in progress at a particular moment in the past or actions that were happening over a period of time.
- I was studying when you called me last night.
- Bonnie was cooking dinner while her husband was watching TV.
- Doug and his friends were playing soccer when it started to rain.
Keep in mind the best way to remember this or any grammar / vocabulary in English is to take the word or phrase, write it in a sentence that’s true for you or true in your world, and then memorize your sentences.
You can even take your sentences and write them in the comments below. I would love to see your examples.
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I'm Michael, your human English teacher from New York and I’ve been teaching English learners around the world since 1994.
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