The document discusses the past continuous tense in English. It explains that the past continuous is used to describe actions that were ongoing or in progress during a period of time in the past. It provides examples of how the past continuous is used to talk about actions happening at a specific time, over a duration, or in the background while another past action occurred. The document contrasts the past continuous with the simple past and discusses their different meanings. It concludes with a memory exercise asking readers to recall details from an image they viewed for one minute.

1. Past
Continuous
Form and
UsageOthman AL Rashid
2016

2. Affirmative
I was
playing
You
We
They
were
He
She
It
was

3. Past continuous tense
was I
playing?
were
you
we
they
was
he
she
it
I
Was not
Wasn’t
playing
You
We
They
were not
weren’t
He
She
It
was not
wasn’t
Interrogative Negative

4. 'yes / no' question
• Was I listening?
• Were you working?
• Was she working?
• Was he living in Paris at
the time?
• Was it snowing when
you arrived?
• Were we eating?
• Were they studying?
• Yes, I was.
• No, I wasn’t (was not)
• Yes, she was.
• No, He wasn’t (was not)
Yes, it was.
No, we weren’t (were not)
Yes, they were.

5. 'wh' question
• Why was I working?
• Where were you living?
• How was she travelling?
• Where was he going?
• Why was it snowing in the summer?
• What were we eating?
• Why were they studying?

6. 1. We use the past continuous to say that an action
was in progress at a specific time in the past. The
action had already started at this time, but had
not finished.
Usage
•At 5pm yesterday, it was raining.

7. 2. We use the past continuous to say that an action
was in progress at every moment during a period of
time.
working workingworking working working working
8:00am 4: 00pm12:00pm
• Yesterday she was sitting at her desk at work all
day.
• You were working all day yesterday.
• Yesterday they were not playing football at 9am.
• What were you doing at 10pm last night?
• Jimmy was working at 10pm last night.

8. 3.use the past continuous together with the past simple.
The past continuous refers to a "longer" or
"background" action that was in progress to indicate
that a longer action in the past was interrupted; The past
simple refers to a “shorter” action that interrupted the
longer action, or happened in the middle of it.
•John’s daughter was sleeping when he
called her at 8pm.

9. I was watching TV when Jim knocked the door.
Long action = (watching TV),
expressed with past continuous
tense
Short action = (knocked),
expressed with simple past tense

10. I was watching TV when Jim knocked the door.
I was watching TV when Jim knocked the door.
When Jim knocked the door , I was watching TV
Jim knocked the door while I was watching TV
While I was watching TV , Jim knocked the door

11. 4. We use the past continuous to say that an action in the
past was temporary.
Sarah was waiting for her friend for 20
minutes yesterday.

12. 6. An annoying and repeated action in the past,
usually with 'always':
5. For two actions which happened at the same
time in the past:
I was watching TV and he was reading.
He was always leaving the tap running.
(In the same way as the present Continuous)

13. The past simple and the past continuous do not
mean exactly the same. Compare:
When Mary arrived, we were
having dinner.
When Mary arrived, we had
dinner.
This means that we already started
dinner before Mary arrived.
This means that Mary arrived first
and then we had dinner.

14. Practice:
Do you have a good memory?
Are you a good witness?
• Directions: Look at the following picture for
one minute. Try to remember as many details
as you can, but don’t write anything.

15. Only one minute…
• Ready, go ….

16. One minute…

17. What do you remember?
1. How many people were there?
2. Where were the people?
3. What was hanging from the ceiling?
4. What was the bank robber holding?
5. What was the bank robber wearing?
6. What color was his hair?
7. What was covering the bank robber’s face?
8. Was the bank robber right-handed or left-handed?
9. What was the bank manager doing?
10. What was the bank teller doing?
11. Who was walking into the bank?
12. What time was it?
13. What was under the bank manager’s desk?

19. Kindly Regards
Othman AL Rashid
uthman_1978@yahoo.com