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How to Form the Past Continuous Tense

In this section, we'll look at how to form the past continuous in the affirmative, negative
and question forms. I've included many examples to help make everything very clear. Before we
get started, you may also hear this tense called the past progressive tense. 

Past continuous positive form
To form the past continuous, we use the was / were form of the verb "to be" plus  the infinitive of
the verb plus  an -ing ending.

Examples:

She was going to school.

You were all doing the chores together.

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He was seeing a new girl last month.

Sadly, she was playing games with me.
We were fighting about politics all evening long.
You were telling me funny jokes.
They were reading bedtime stories for hours last night.

Past continuous negative form

To make an affirmative (positive) statement negative, add "not" before the verb + -ing. You can
also use a contraction (wasn't / weren't). We use contractions frequently in spoken  English.

Examples:

I was not going to bed. / I wasn't going to bed.

You were not doing your homework.
The children weren't sleeping during the drive home.
My boyfriend was not telling me the truth.
They were not playing this week.
She wasn't planning her wedding.
They were not studying English last week during vacation.

Past continuous yes/no questions (positive)

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Questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no" answers are formed by inverting the subject
and correct form of the verb "be" (was / were). (Inverting means we change the order of the
subject and verb form:)

Affirmative statement: I was sleeping. (the subject "I" is first, then the verb form "was")

Affirmative question:  Was I sleeping?  (to make a question, the verb form "was" comes first then
the subject "I").

Examples:

Was I snoring?
Was he studying all night again?
Was the baby crying a lot today?
Were we talking too loud last night?
Were we eating lots of candy?
Were they playing nicely today or were they fighting?

Wh- questions past continuous

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Examples:

Where was he going?

Where were they flying to?
How were your children getting along?
Why were the buses running late?
What was your cat eating?
What was the policeman telling us?
What instruments were those musicians playing?
Where were the children hiding?
How was your new car working?

Spelling changes
Be careful as there are also some spelling changes:

Spelling:  Verbs that end with one -e

For verbs that end with one -e, drop the -e and add -ing.  Note that these verbs the -e sound  at
the end is silent. (e.g., believe, bake, take, love).

achieve — achieving        

hate — hating        
live — living        
take — taking      
strike — striking
bike — biking
make — making
have  — having
dance — dancing

But:

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With verbs ending with a long -e sound, add -ing as normal:

see — seeing
be — being
flee — fleeing
agree — agreeing

Spelling:  Short one-syllable verbs ending in CVC

If the verb has one syllable and ends with CVC (a consonant + vowel + consonant), we double the
final consonant before adding the -ing ending:

sit — sitting      
get — getting       
pet — petting    
plan — planning     
run — running  
put   — putting
stop — stopping
trim — trimming
win  — winning

Spelling: verbs ending in w, x and y

Notice these verbs end in CVC (consonant vowel consonant). However, do not double the
consonant for verbs that end in w, x or y.

glow — glowing       
flow — flowing     
show — showing      
stay — staying       
wax — waxing

Spelling:  Two or more syllable verbs

When verbs ending in ending in CVC (consonant vowel consonant) have two or more
syllables, double the last consonant if the last syllable is stressed.

begin — beginning (be / GIN = the last syllable is stressed)

forget  — forgetting (for / GET = the last syllable is stressed)
upset — upsetting
regret — regretting
prefer  — preferring
admit  — admitting

However, when the last syllable is not stressed, just add -ing as usual.

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benefit — benefiting ( be / NE / fit  = second syllable is stressed not  the last)

happen — happening (HAPP / en = first syllable is stressed not  the last)
open — opening
listen — listening
shiver  — shivering

Spelling:  Verbs ending in -ie

If a verb ends in -ie change 'ie' to 'y' then add -ing.

die — dying   
lie — lying  
tie — tying  

Check back for exercises that will help you practice the past continuous tense in its different
forms.

Home Page › Grammar Topics › Past Continuous Form

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