English — Past Continuous: Formation and Uses — 2nd Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

Past Continuous: Formation and Uses

The past continuous describes an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past.

Formation

Subject + was/were + verb-ing

Subject	Verb	Example
I/He/She/It	was + V-ing	I was reading.
You/We/They	were + V-ing	They were playing.

Uses

• Action in progress at a specific time: “At 7 pm, I was doing my homework.”
• Background action (interrupted): “I was sleeping when the phone rang.”
• Two simultaneous actions: “While I was studying, my brother was watching TV.”

Past Simple vs Past Continuous

Past Simple: complete action. “I watched a film last night.”

Past Continuous: action in progress. “I was watching a film when you called.”

Exercises

1) Put the verbs in past continuous: At 6 pm, I … (have) dinner. The children … (play) outside.
2) Complete: While I … (walk) to school, I … (see) an accident. She … (study) when her friend … (arrive).

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