An action in progress in the past: The past continuous (also called the past progressive) describes an action that was in progress at a moment in the past — it had started but had not yet finished.
How to build it
- was / were + the -ing form of the verb
- I was reading, they were waiting.
A paused camera: Think of it as a camera that pauses the past and films what was happening: At 8 p.m. I was studying. The action is mid-flow, not a finished event.
- past continuous
- the tense for an action in progress in the past: was/were + verb-ing
- auxiliary (helping verb)
- the small verb that carries the tense — here was (singular) or were (plural)
- the -ing form
- the present participle: read -> reading, run -> running, write -> writing
- in progress
- happening over a period of time, not yet completed
- past simple
- the tense for a finished past action (I read, I waited); contrasts with the past continuous
Why it carries the marks: Almost every story, diary entry, blog or witness account at HL needs the past continuous to set a scene and to describe what was going on around a key event.
Don't slip into the past simple: Choosing it correctly (and not slipping into the past simple) is core Criterion A (Language) accuracy — examiners notice straight away when a narrative jumps between was doing and did by accident.
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Was / were + -ing: There is only one thing to choose: was or were.
Building it
- Use was with I, he, she, it.
- Use were with you, we, they.
- Then add the -ing form of the main verb — and that never changes for the subject.
- Negatives add not (wasn't / weren't).
- Questions put the auxiliary first (Was she …? / Were they …?).
| Subject | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I was working | I wasn't working | Was I working? |
| you | you were working | you weren't working | Were you working? |
| he / she / it | she was working | she wasn't working | Was she working? |
| we | we were working | we weren't working | Were we working? |
| they | they were working | they weren't working | Were they working? |
Spelling the -ing form: Three quick spelling rules for the -ing form:
1. Drop a silent final -e: write -> writing, make -> making, dance -> dancing.
2. After a short stressed vowel, double the final consonant: run -> running, sit -> sitting, swim -> swimming.
3. Final -ie becomes -ying: lie -> lying, die -> dying.
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Scene-setting and interruptions: The past continuous has three clear jobs in a story.
Its three jobs
1
Background
It sets the background to a story.
2
Same time
It describes two actions happening at the same time.
3
Interruption
It shows a longer action interrupted by a shorter one.
Longer action: past continuous. Sudden one: past simple.
The classic 'while … when …' pattern: The longer action takes the past continuous, the sudden one takes the past simple.
I was watching TV when the phone rang. (watching = in progress; rang = the short interruption.)
Uses of the past continuous
- Background / scene-setting — 'It was raining and the wind was blowing.'
- An action in progress at a past time — 'At nine o'clock I was studying for my exam.'
- Two actions at the same time (often with 'while') — 'While I was cooking, my sister was setting the table.'
- A longer action interrupted by a shorter one — 'We were walking home when it started to rain.'
- A repeated or annoying habit with 'always' — 'He was always losing his keys.'
Past continuous — in progress
- At 8 p.m. I was reading. (still going on at 8)
- While she was singing, we listened. (mid-action)
- It was snowing all morning. (background)
Past simple — completed
- At 8 p.m. I read a chapter. (finished it)
- She sang one song, then sat down. (whole event)
- It snowed, so school closed. (the fact, finished)
The 'while / when' rule of thumb: Use while before the long action (past continuous): While I was sleeping… Use when before the short action (past simple): …when the alarm went off. If you can swap to 'during the time that…', it takes the past continuous.
A scene told with the past continuous: Here is a short narrative built one sentence at a time. Read it once for the picture, then look at how each verb is chosen.
What to notice
- The background actions are in the past continuous (was cooking, was fixing, was sitting, was watching, was boiling, was falling).
- The sudden event uses the past simple (went out, came back).
IB-style task — the past continuous in action
A Saturday afternoon, step by step
- Last Saturday afternoon the whole house was busy. My mum was cooking lunch and my dad was fixing his old bicycle in the garage.
- I was sitting at the kitchen table doing my homework while my little brother was watching cartoons on the sofa.
- Suddenly the lights went out. (We use the past simple, "went out", for the short, completed action that interrupts.)
- When the power came back, the soup was still boiling on the stove and the rain was falling hard outside.
- By six o'clock everyone was laughing about it — and I still hadn't finished my homework!
Steal this for your own story: Open a narrative with two or three past-continuous verbs to paint the scene ('The sun was setting, people were hurrying home'), then drop in a past-simple verb for the event that 'happens' ('…when I saw her'). That mix is exactly what scores well in a Paper 1 story, diary or blog.
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The slips to watch for: Three mistakes dominate. Compare the right version with the typical mistake.
The three slips
- Mixing up was / were with the subject ('they was running' instead of they were running).
- Using the past continuous for a finished action that should be past simple ('Yesterday I was finishing my homework and went to bed' — the homework was finished, so it should be I finished).
- Putting a state verb (know, want, like, believe) into the continuous ('I was knowing the answer' — say I knew).
Correct
- They were waiting outside the cinema.
- I finished my homework and went to bed.
- I knew the answer straight away.
Common mistake
- They was waiting outside the cinema. (was -> were with 'they')
- I was finishing my homework and went to bed. (finished action -> past simple)
- I was knowing the answer straight away. (state verb -> past simple 'knew')
Ask: in progress, or finished?
1
Still happening?
If the action was still happening at that moment, use the past continuous (was/were + -ing) and match was / were to the subject.
2
Finished?
If the action finished (or it is a state like know, want, like), use the past simple instead.
When in doubt, ask: Could a camera still be filming it? If yes, past continuous.